Well, its about time I started one of these and what better time than just after you've made the decade-long-desired step of resigning from your family. To make myself feel better, I just re-read the parts of that hoary old chestnut, the Communist Manifesto, that refer to why its OK to not feel bad about having such bad thoughts about that most hallowed of institutions, the family. Here is the text verbatim: (god I love the first line! Marx had *such* a way with words ...)