I have been feeling very blah of late hence the paucity of posts.
It is, sadly, the norm for me at this time of year. As I have mentioned before, being the mother of boys means that I don't get a look in over the festive season. They all go to the other side of the family.
I used to love Christmas. The shopping for gifts, the planning, the wrapping, the decorating etc. Now I don't even bother. One would think shopping for the grandkids would be fun but they have everything. Even books are hard as I have no idea which ones they own.
This year is added to by a rift between Himself and Other Brother. OB and his wife came over between lockdown 77,098 and 98,452. Sister in law and I made the mistake of going and picking veges from my garden leaving the blokes alone. Himself and OB got into a "discussion". Not sure exactly what it was about but it would have been political. OB yelled for SIL and when we came inside he was shaking with rage, Himself was sitting looking bemused but determined and a hasty retreat was beaten. To this day we have two different stories from two different husbands. Sadly, my brother never forgets a slight (disagreeing with or questioning him is a cardinal sin but Himself chose to ignore that memo) so it is unlikely we will get together with them over Christmas. I have put it out there and we shall see. Dr Teacher will agree although Mrs Teacher #2 is questionable. #1 was lovely. This one seems to need to prove something generally by lecturing everyone so conversations are difficult.
I caught up with Sister in Law today and we had lunch and a really good chat. She is the sister I never had. Living with my brother is a challenge and he doesn't get easier as the years go by. At least Himself has mellowed over time. A bit.
So, my blogger friends, that is why I have been missing in action.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better and my funk will have lifted.
Debby posted this. It made me snort into my wine.
Oh yes - families.....can't live with them- can't live without them!
ReplyDeleteI've 'cried buckets' over the sons & inlaws dilemma but decided it wasn't worth the stress.....luckily we did see g/children frequently- just not on Christmas Day.
Here's hoping you find something to smile over during the holiday season
Thanks Cathy. It is hard especially as their childhood was arranged so they got to see both sets of grandparents and had Christmas day just to play with their new toys. I'm just being a sook!
DeleteChristmas really can be so difficult. I think it is fair of adult children to alternate between parents and in laws each year. Throw into that is separated parents and it can be a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, that is why Three's family are so hard. Everyone (apart from them) up through generations is divorced. It is too hard to work out.
DeleteMy generation was fine as they all lived overseas (we are first generation Canadians). Not so much for my children as they have three houses to visit and three mammoth meals to eat over Christmas Eve, Day and Boxing Day with the grandkids being ridiculously spoiled at each house!
ReplyDeleteChris, when I was a child we lived in Hong Kong so didn't have any extended family. I wouldn't expect my kids to try to see both sides of the family on the same day - too difficult and not fair on the grandkids - but one day over the period would be nice. But, as I mentioned in reply to Andrew, we have a lot of divorced families with Three and, to a lesser degree, One so it gets too complicated.
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