I thought I was helping my parents and sister by taking on adult responsibilities for most of my life. After they invaded my privacy and peace, I resolved to treat them like grownups.
I was always “the responsible one” at home. Not in the pleasant, reliable Girl Scout manner, but in the rough, unglamorous, do-the-taxes-at-16 way. Unfortunately, my part would haunt me as an adult, driving me to do something permanent.
My parents took last-minute road vacations without inviting me, so I had to pay the costs. I brought my own lunches in middle school. I managed our grocery budget by 14.