I think he got mad because he thought I could afford much more than the annuity I purchased. He kept bringing up how I have no kids and how my only home is one that is a small rancher which I inherited in part.
Your finances and how you manage them is none of your brother's business. Remember, "No" is a complete sentence.
Look, I think you need to engage in therapy for several reasons:
You have a long track record of "nicing" people who aren't very nice back to you. You need coping skills and perspective on this so that you can draw a line in the sand when people push against your boundaries. It's endemic in your entire life: family, this "relationship" you believe you are in, your professional colleagues and your students. You're leaving yourself vulnerable to more of the same if you don't address this.
I'm sorry your parents raised you to believe that therapy has no value. However, you can change that belief whenever you want. A good therapist can give you a LOT of tools that will make a big difference in your life. But only you can take that first step.
We're approaching the end of the school year. What changes are you going to make in your professional development and in addressing what sounds like a toxic work environment. Have you talked to your union rep? Have you looked into professional development tools available to you? I work in educational publishing, and I know such tools exist.
You can look at this spring and summer as a rebirth of who you are as a person and a professional.
But you can also do what you've always done: slog along in this so-so "relationship" with a known cheater who is a mooch and treats you poorly, continue to knuckle under to undue family influence, limp along in your role as a professional while allowing others to bully you and continue to be unhappy.
BUT, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.
Think on that.
Cat
