I have to make sure my Nmom doesn't ruin my brother's graduation

In a year, my younger brother, a straight honor roll student, will be graduating college. As he excitedly showed me his almost perfect grades, my graduation a couple of years ago flashed back.

I'm the eldest so I had no idea how my Nmom would act during my graduation. My graduation became a horrible memory instead of it being a precious, proud moment. Of course, it was all about her.

The morning of my graduation was stressful because while I was frantically looking for a hair and makeup artist, my Nmom was more distressed because she couldn't find one for HERSELF. Her hair and makeup ended up more expensive than mine. Most of the parents wore smart casual outfits while my Nmom was in a cocktail dress. She also bought me a bouquet. How sweet. Except it was a bouquet of her favorite flowers and she was holding it most of the time. It was really HER day.

On the way to the ceremony, my Nmom kept saying that it should be the parents who will be going up the stage because they're the one who paid for tuition. All of the students wouldn't finish college if the parents didn't pay (P.S. I'm not from the US). "The kids just had to study. What's so hard about that? It's the parents who paid that should be recognized."

It was beyond frustrating to hear. I graduated from one of the best universities in the country, with two degrees and managed to finish on time which was rare for my degree combo. I've had sleepless nights and breakdowns from juggling academics and extra curriculars. But hey, "what's so hard about that?".

It doesn't stop there. The dinner after the ceremony, it was my Nmom's friends who were invited. I agreed anyway because I didn't want to be embarrassed if I invited my friends. Besides, her friends are normal. I was actually grateful for them. Over dinner, they noticed my Nmom was making my graduation about herself. She was talking about the same things: her makeup, how parents should be the one going up the stage and how I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for her. Nmom's friends lightly called her out and told her it's like she's the one who graduated. The friends would take turns cutting her off to actually let me speak. They would ask me about my degree, my job prospects, my college life and tell me I did a great job. I knew my Nmom would get annoyed. My brother would've chimed in with nmom's friends if only he made it to the dinner.

Now that I could be there for my brother's graduation, I'm gonna do my best to block my nmom's toxicity.