this is a very difficult decision, usually reached in desperation after many years of trying everything we could think of to make the relationship work, and reluctantly coming to realize that it takes two to tango, and our relative does not care about us enough to even try. we spend most of our lives trying to change things precisely because we do love our relative and want so much to have a nice relationship. it is very painful to walk away from someone we love, but there are times we have no choice.
loving someone does not mean you have to have a relationship with them. as we go through life, 