Dear Laura,

You took care of yourself.  Hooray!  You also shared your presence with your famiy on an occasion that was important to them. 

You met the continuing challenge with grace, Laura.  If you want to honor an occasion but know it places you in a vulnerable position, then how do you take care of yourself?

If you can't take care of yourself, you don't go.  But if you can take care of yourself you do go.
You prepared in advance by not arriving in a hungry state.  You went with a supportive companion.  You stayed to your limit of tolerance and not beyond.  You had options and gave yourself a pleasant follow up to the occasion by watching the film with your husband.

You surrounded the stressful event with support. 

There's a highly negative review on Amazon for my book.  It just came up in the past few days.
It's based on the belief that I tell people to avoid their families. Sigh. Familiy situations can be triggering and people need to learn how to care for themselves so they can tolerate such stress.

You cared for yourself in ways that were essential for you.  That's the bottom line of recovery.

I love that you smiled and were gracious as you left. :)