Crankin, thanks for sharing your story. It's helpful to hear from those who have been there. This part of your story really resonated with me, as it's similar to what DH and I are dealing with:

Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
My opinions never counted <snip>... Despite the fact, I still tried to find something in common with them, they all decided to hold grudges against me and my husband for things (stupid things) that happened ten or fifteen years ago.
In our case, it's an immediate family member, and maybe that's what makes this so difficult... I'm trying very hard to remember that there's a lot of people who love, like, and respect me, and that the opinions of one person aren't necessarily correct or realistic. (But dang, that's tough to do sometimes....)

I'm really anxious about what Christmas is going to be like this year, as that's the point where I need to "fish or cut bait", so to speak, and decide if I'm ready to break all contact. *sighs*