Some family conflicts build slowly over years. Others reveal themselves in a single moment, under bright airport lights, with suitcases lined up and boarding passes in hand.
For Eleanor, a 67-year-old retired cardiologist from Lincoln Park, that moment arrived before sunrise. She had spent six months planning what she believed would be a joyful family vacation to Hawaii: ten days, oceanfront suites, activities for her grandchildren, and special dinners meant to create memories they would talk about for years.
The trip had cost $47,000. Eleanor had paid for it all herself.
She arrived at the airport excited, not worried. After decades of work, she was finally doing something purely for love and pleasure. Then she saw her son Richard, her daughter-in-law Sandra, the two grandchildren — and one extra person standing with luggage and a boarding pass.