I become more edited around them than I want to admit

Dear Delyara, I think what tires me most about family is not always conflict. It’s editing. Editing my tone, my truth, my timing, my reactions, my softness, my frustration. Some of it is subtle enough that I don’t even notice until after, when I realize I’ve spent a whole conversation as a slightly adjusted version of myself. Not false. Just reduced. I know why it happens. History is active there. Still, it makes me sad how quickly some rooms shrink me without anyone openly trying to.