Dear Thelma: "I'm tired of being the messenger when my parents fight"

When parents argue, children are almost always caught in the middle. One kid is tired of all the bickering.

I’m tired of being a messenger. What I mean by this is that I’m tired of being around my parents. Please don’t get me wrong, they are very loving parents. But there are times when they are cold to each other due to some minor argument or other. It is during these times that they choose not to talk or look at each other. Then, my younger siblings and I are expected to help them “pass messages” to each other.