As soon as I finished my SDCK this morning, the phone rang. My stepfather was so distraught, he could barely speak for a good 3 minutes. My mother tried to kill herself last night.

She was found unharmed by police, but sweet Jesus! Can this ride get any weirder?

It conjures up old fears from the past: my mother manipulating us, the intense emotion, the terror.

At least I can look at this now with detachment. I love my mother, but I will not participate in this game anymore.

As of today, it's the end of the world as she knows it.