Is this cake eating? 10

[bustorama]

Love the idea turtle/lilGTO. It is spot on because it totally validates S14's feelings about it, and he might actually enjoy coming up with ideas to do together or when to hang out.

NLW, maybe you could even talk to S14 about taking a risk and assertively sharing how he feels with WAS. "Dad, I really do want us to hang out, I miss it. But it just doesn't work for me (or hurts me or makes me angry, whatever he feels) for you to show up at random times and to order me around like my feelings don't matter or I don't have life and for you to tell me I need to do A or do B. And then for you to get mad at me when I get upset about or if it's not a good time for me or I don't want to do either of the things. How about if we do it X way" (whatever he thinks would work for him and then the two of them could talk about it).

Brooklyn, yeah totally. I think the biggest thing we can give our kids through these sitches is a model of how to communicate/connect with each other and live, not only despite, but ESPECIALLY when, our most important relationships become hard or unmanageable.