Eh?

As part of the OMG scenario from ages back, one thing that raised its head was that E has this very love/hate thing going on with her family. It's complicated, I know that and it seems that, at the very least, E has identified this. She admits, for example, that one of the reasons she has lived away from home for over half of her life is to get away from her family. I know the reasons behind that point of view and I completely understand that. However, E is in contact with her family (at least her mum, dad and younger sister, if not her other siblings - all separately) at least once a week. It's almost religious. That's the bit I don't understand. Distance doesn't matter if you're going to phone home for the best part of three or four hours per week and share your life. It doesn't matter if you're 12 or 1200 miles away, the end result is still the same.

I'm voicing this now because I'm confused. I would have thought E would be in a position to say "well, fuck you. this is how I live my life and I will be in contact when it suits me, not weekly when you think I should get in contact". Well, there's that and the fact I sent a message about an hour and a half ago when she appeared online, only to be told she was talking to her sister. Knowing E, who likes to talk, she'll then call her parents before getting around to me. Personally, I don't understand that. If my contact time is limited (as I know E's is due to geographical location, time zones etc.), then it's surely a first-come-first-served basis? If I don't chat to someone one weekend, I can do it the next. Or there's email, which is picked up every day or... or... well, you can see my confusion, right?

I know that this is all about 90% fact. I'm not making too many assumptions with this. The only thing I don't know for sure is if it's actually E making these decisions or if it's her family calling the shots. From what I know (from conversations when I was visiting E), it seems that her family is calling the shots and E is capitulating and making contact. It's a shame is that's the case because that's not helping anyone in the family and doubly so because E know this.