Surviving (Narcissistic) Vampire Parents

Nature protected me but now she is peeling the onion, revealing the stories, layer upon layer. How my parents blamed me for everything, even things that were impossible. The are all dead now. It's safe to unpack the stories. They float up into my head on a daily basis.

My parents called me on the phone to yell at me for having a 30th birthday party without them. I hung up and refused contact for nearly a decade.

As kids we never ate dinner with my parents except on Sundays. One night I decided to make dinner for them. I was seventeen. I chose to make wild rice. "Do you know how much this costs?"my step-father yelled when presented with the dish.

The memories continue - scolding me for screaming when a rat ran over my foot at the hotel when we were on vacation. I was a kid.

Calling me fat instead of saying hello when they came to pick me up at summer camp. I was 15.

Accusing me of forcing them to buy a country house! Whaat?

Blaming my brother's car crash on me. How could it be my fault?

Shaming me in front of guests for forgetting to flush the toilet. Age16.

Mother screaming "I made you an artist, because of all those terrible things I did to you!" 

The list never ends. 

Every family needs a scapegoat.