My in-laws had no assets when they passed, but my parents are still living and have significant assets, of which I expect to receive nothing. I don't have a healthy relationship with my dad (who controls my parents' marriage) and I fully expect him to leave their money and property to my two other siblings. This does not hurt me, as I am an independent adult child, I feel no right to their possessions, and I am under no illusions as to what my dad's character is like. I'm sorry that you're in pain. Obviously your situation is different from mine. Do you honestly believe your parents love this sister more than you and your other siblings? Have there been unhealthy dynamics in the past that were hard to pinpoint and the will lays it out clearly in black and white? Do you feel you need financial help more than your sister? (No pressure to answer...these are just questions that cross my mind in this situation.)

Yes, kudos to you! Since I have no emotional attachment to your mom, I find her relentless nagging, criticism, and negativity to be unintentionally quite funny. Eta: oh, her pettiness as well: "I didn't want to talk to you anymore anyway" 😂

Your mom needs to feel superior. She sounds like a handful to put up with. As someone looking from the outside, it's partly funny and partly pitiful how busy she is playing games with you all.

I think I understand why you're upset over SIL's text. From my perspective, the underlying problem is your relationship with your DH. It seems like he doesn't prioritize you and your nuclear family unit. I want to suggest that you have choices, you have power, even though it may not feel like it. If you choose to go along to get along (for instance, going on a long trip when you feel you're still healing from birth), you are choosing one set of consequences over another, which is fine. But is there a way for you to feel more peace about your choice... Also, I want to affirm that from what you've shared, your DH's family is unhealthy. They probably trample any boundaries you try to erect and your DH never supports you in establishing those boundaries. You are walking a hard path. I think you need to reevaluate your mindset to get to a healthier place in your relationship with your DH. ((Hugs)) to you.

We moved last year to an area where Costco is 45 min away but Sam's is in town. I kept my Costco membership because we save $$$ on our Costco affiliated home and car insurance as well as on rental car deals. We also like to buy electronics from them because of their free extended warranties, concierge tech support, and amazing return policy. Also, they carry certain items that would cost me $5-10 more elsewhere so we usually go every couple months and stock up.

What about Duluth, GA (Atlanta metro)? Agree with Sneezy about picking front row seats around the floor.

We use taxact for semi complicated circumstances. It's pretty easy to fill out and costs about 130 for us to file federal and state.

Maybe go check out https://www.thechosenprime.com/collectionpurchase. This is a legitimate toy/collectible buyer and seller that we've dealt with many times before.

First, big hugs to you. I hate being at odds with my DH...it generally makes me feel really threatened (a bit of my own irrationality at play here)... Yes, we periodically have very uncomfortable fights that have consistent underlying issues. But in the last couple of years, both DH and I have made progress on being more aware of what those issues are. Both DH and I have realized that we both have some tendencies/patterns of thoughts that are rooted in our respective weaknesses and childhood traumas and just acknowledging this to each other has helped us deal with these problems in a healthier way. We were able to have some really productive conversations during a period of great introspection on his part and a low stress time in our life. You say you didn't have a "normal" family that could model healthy ways to disagree. When you describe your part in the fight, I wonder how much of the impetus of your words and actions is pushing back against being "Michelle Duggar" as you feel your mom was. I mean, there are times when I know DH is being unreasonable...I've gotten better at staying calm and not feeling threatened. I can be more emotionally removed from whatever point he's making. I can disagree and not engage but still feel like I have power. Because I will still behave/think how I think is best. And usually he just needs time to not be emotionally heated and then I can have a more productive conversation with him.

I think you (very naturally) are projecting your own trauma with your mother (who really sounds terrible) onto what you saw on the sidelines. I agree that football is extreme and damages athletes and that Travis Kelce's loss of control did not look good. But I don't think the confrontation you saw is analogous to your interactions with your mother, whom you still seem to fear. Andy Reid has sooo much power in determining Travis Kelce's future with the Chiefs. He's not cowed by Travis Kelce. Reid has a long history with the Kelce family. He drafted Travis' older brother Jason when he was with the Eagles and then drafted Travis when he was with the Chiefs. In interviews, Reid has talked about how he has been working with Travis for 10 years trying to help him channel his crazy emotions into success on the football field. The article Kassia linked might help you feel better as well. In it, Andy Reid describes the interaction and Travis' apology afterwards.

These statement make me wonder if your distress/guilt isn't really about the distance you feel from these relatives. It's more that your mom is upset that your relationship with these relatives isn't closer. If so, then this is really about how you've given her power over your emotions. Whether or not I agree with you, I feel that you are communicating that you think there are good reasons for not pursuing close relationships with people you consider wackos. You get to make that choice. So why do you feel upset about this? Do you ever think about why you don't feel upset at your mom that she's not supporting you in your concerns? Why are you responsible for her sadness?

I feel like these should be able to connect the poles: https://trinityii.com/pole-connectors-set-of-4/

DH suggests checking out the MATCH function.

Praying for you both. DH went through something similar a year ago that felt devastating. He was able to line up a new position within a few months, thankfully, but the feeling of being betrayed is still something DH is working through. I agree with pp that being laid off from a tech position right now would not make anyone blink. I would bet that severance includes insurance, so hopefully you can clarify that and get a little peace of mind about that.

Just wanted to add a thought about getting better at sight reading. One part for me was just more time spent doing it. Recently I've spent 10-15 minutes a day learning new but relatively easy songs for me each week (around 2-3 songs per week). After a couple months, I've started noticing how much better I'm getting at being able to learn these songs. It feels like my brain is upgrading the wiring for hand eye coordination and reading music 😁. I'm sure there are programs/lessons out there that improve your sight-reading ability, but I think sheer time spent doing it will be very helpful in itself.