Household run by Narcissists

No graduations, birthdays or obituaries.

Every year at this time I am reminded of my and my siblings' childhoods where no achievements were celebrated because the children had to protect the fragile egos of our narcissistic parents. We had to keep awards and birthdays and special commendations a secret, or at the least never expect them to be celebrated.

A friend of mine who grew up in a divorced household told another friend of ours, newly divorced with two kids, "They will be fine, just don't miss the big stuff!" like graduations, plays, award ceremonies. 

I always remembered that because both sets of my parents made a point of running AWAY from the big stuff. 

As I was stepping onstage to perform in the school play my mother was being wheeled in for yet another surgery. The whole week prior she reminded us of the upcoming surgery, but not my upcoming performance. "I'm tidying my sock drawer! I might not survive!"

I get teary when I see children participating in graduations. Their parents attend and smile and take photos. They put banners on their front lawns. My husband is a teacher so I see this every year. I also get to watch and applaud the neighborhood kids who I've watched grow from their tadpole stage to becoming parents themselves.