You can return to a place without agreeing to resume every role you once played there.

Old places come with old parts already written. Walk back into the family kitchen or the town you grew up in, and the roles arrive with the rooms: the peacemaker, the one who fixes things, the one who gets teased. Visiting a place does not oblige you to play the person you were in it. You can be present and warm and still decline the script.

Before your next visit, name one role you would rather not pick up again. Then choose a small, calm way to step out of it, such as staying quiet during the argument you always used to settle.