Hi shattered, welcome to PsychCentral.

It sure is hard when you are "local" and families don't pay as much attention to you because you're just "there" all the time. I had that happen with me too; my stepmother always paid more attention to her daughter and daughter's children and their needs than to me after I grew up but before I married. I still go to my stepsister's for Christmas dinner but don't see her or her family the rest of the year.