When it comes to family relationships, sometimes as difficult as they may be, you have to check your baggage at the door and enter the family dynamics without cause, or opinion, or direction. Often learning how to put a hold on your own ideology, or your own agenda is as difficult as saying no to that delicious and sinfully rich chocolate fudge cake. Bottom line- think before you speak or act. Respond rather than react. Maybe cite a cute example of something as simple as saying how delicious the family meal was, even though you could not disseminate between the green bean or the chocolate chip cookie- so what if that happened. Don’t ever expect more than cherishing that you are simply still together. Nothing else matters. After grappling through the past few years, let’s enjoy and embrace what we now have.