“For eighteen years, Lucy has always seen me as beneath her. She was two weeks older than me and never allowed me to forget about it. She had an expensive BMW for her sixteenth and I got a diamond necklace-so she had to get a pair of earrings twice as expensive. This is not just about Lucy and I though, as my mother has been forced to deal with it as well. She would get something from my dad and then my Aunt would show up the next time we saw her with the same item-only larger or more expensive. It has put both my mother and I into tears as to both how stupid it is and how selfish it is as they are the only family we have close to us. But this is also what has made my connection with my mom what it is. We have had each other to count on for such a long time that our mother-daughter bond is
