Take the 2-Second Litmus Test for Any Relationship
Sometimes, a relationship can be toxic even if there are no major issues.
Even my naïve, 8-year-old brain could pick up that something was not quite right. Although at the time, I couldn’t articulate exactly what was wrong about the situation.
We were visiting my uncle and aunt for a week and I had just overheard my uncle say something seemingly innocuous to my aunt.
He said, “This is the heavier bag. I’m going to let you carry it. You know, cause I’m worried about hernias.”
I paused. Why did that sound weird? Then I realized that my older brother says this exact line to me every time we go grocery shopping. Except in his version it went like this, “This is the heavier bag. I’m going to carry it since it will be harder for you.”
After I made the connection that what was weird was my uncle’s inverted logic, I started paying more attention to when he would say the same things as my brother, but arrive at a different conclusion.
“This piece of toast is a bit burnt. I’m going to let you have it. You know how burnt things make my stomach funny.”
I made a strange game of it that week. Taking note that my uncle would say things like that at least half a dozen times…
