Family Reunions

I dread not a single thing or a single person that will attend. We have many get -togethers each year and I've never seen a bit of discourse amongst the 25-30 members of our immediate family. Of our 4 kids, 13 grandkids and 7 great grands. Only one grandson and his wife who live on the wet coast are among the missing. We've held our gatherings on Cape Cod, in Rhode Island and across the line in Connecticut.

Now in our 80's, our social life rarely moves outside of this group and although we enjoyed winters in Florida for many years and still spend time at our daughter's cottage in Maine, the best times of the year are when we gather whether for holidays or for something as simple as a child's birthday. One mention -no one ever uses alcohol or smokes at our gatherings, in fact I don't think anyone smokes - period. The non use of alcohol is respect for my wife and I as we are not and never have been drinkers. From listening to other folks, it seems as though a little over imbibing can bring out differences that might otherwise not surface.


So yes - -bring on the family reunions - -the more the merrier in our case. :)
 
My only family is my daughter so I don’t have to worry about family reunions but, if I did and I ‘dreaded’ anything, the chances are I wouldn’t be going !
 
Those large family gatherings are all in the distant past for me.

The worst thing for me was tolerating thoughtless comments from family members that I would never tolerate from anyone else in the world.

Like my grandmother used to say: "They mean well, bless their hearts."
 
When we had family get-togethers (wife's immediate family only) we had a great time. Christmas, us flying into Las Vegas, from Colorado, for the National Finals Rodeo and the family driving in from So Calif. There was drinking, but absolutely no problems. Wife's mom is gone now, but after we move back to Colorado, we may all meet again in Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo.

Wife and I are very sociable people, especially around the family and/or folks that like rodeo as much as we do.
 
I really dread nothing about family gatherings, but wish that the young ones would put down their blasted cell phones, stop texting, and be more than just physically present at them...
 
Fyrefox said:
I really dread nothing about family gatherings, but wish that the young ones would put down their blasted cell phones, stop texting, and be more than just physically present at them...
Click to expand...

As someone asked elsewhere recently'Where will you be staring at your cellphone this weekend?'
 
I love 'em! We have a lot of them, for every birthday, (5 kids and 10 grandkids so there's lots to celebrate!) seasonal event, Monday holiday etc. They are amongst my most fond memories and fun times!
 
I wish. Parents have passed on. I only have two siblings, one has no children, the other, we never see his grown-up children. No cousins either. No aunts, uncles. And my hubby has not been in contact with his family for over 30 years. Our family reunions consist of me meeting one brother once a year. The other brother is in Calgary and when he has a medical conference in Vancouver, we see him. Hubby and I don't travel at all. We have not had a vacation going away somewhere in over 10 years.
 
Never been to one. My crazy mother was an immigrant.

However my stepfather's family was big on get togethers. His sister often hosted them for holidays, Easter. They had a big one out in the country where my stepfather grew up. Not sure who's house it was at, but it was for his mother's birthday. She would have been well into her 80's. Everyone seemed to have a good time and his family was always nice to me. Eventually my mother put a stop to us going of course.
 
Family gatherings often turned surreal and painful for me owing to my narcissistic mother, who always had to dominate conversation, provoke others, and be the center of attention. She was even known to provide “entertainment” by getting out her violin and playing (unsolicited, of course), and expecting everyone to listen with rapt attention…and Mother wasn’t nearly as good a violinist as she fancied herself to be! 🎻 🙀
 
Fyrefox said:
Family gatherings often turned surreal and painful for me owing to my narcissistic mother, who always had to dominate conversation, provoke others, and be the center of attention. She was even known to provide “entertainment” by getting out her violin and playing (unsolicited, of course), and expecting everyone to listen with rapt attention…and Mother wasn’t nearly as good a violinist as she fancied herself to be! 🎻 🙀
Click to expand...
Yup! And I'm sorry. The personality disorders have to ruin anything that doesn't revolve around them. I can remember my mother at stepfather's family get togethers. People would approach her, she'd act like an ass. Not answer them, look away. Then she'd expect them to give her a cheerful greeting the next time. Of course it was all because she had an "accent." People did not treat her badly. It was her own behavior. My stepfather's mother was from England and spoke with an accent.

My mother swore they went someplace. Could have been a funeral. My mother says someone stated "what's she doing here?" Can't say I'd blame them after her behavior I witnessed.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top