Sanctuary

So I have been thinking and stewing since Saturday. Dave's mom had requested having a meal out here for a small family reunion type thing. Dave agreed and even told her it was fine if she invited his brothers. We did not think they would show up. They haven't shown up the last couple of times she has tried to get us all together. And we like that just fine. So this time they did show up. To be fair I never said anything to them, but they never said anything to me either....not even hello. It is not all right to come to our house and eat our food and not acknowledge the people who live here. Dave said they did thank him, which is more than they usually do.
I realized some things while they were here. Like how much I dislike them and how uncomfortable they make me. And I'm not the only one. Tanya wanted nothing to do with them and spent her time avoiding them (and that made it so we couldn't visit with Gayle and Bill). She was completely ill at ease. She had her own hair on the back of the neck thing going on and then she was concerned about her daughters. And so was I. And we should not have to feel that way at my home. This is my sanctuary (even if at times a rocky one) and has always been Tanya's too. This is one place both of us have always felt safe. And I think that we should always have that.
So in the future we may have to set our foots down and say if Gayle wants a reunion she has to do it somewhere else. Not here. This is sanctuary.