Family

[skcin]

You can give as much or as little info as you'd like. Or you can ignore my thread like most people do.

Grandparents: All deceased. Lost the last one when I was 14. (Interesting to me is that husband had all 4 grandparents living until he was 30. His greatgrandmother didn't die until he was 25.)

Parents: Both alive, married 40 years despite their dislike for eachother for at least the latter half of those years. Ah, true love.

Siblings: One brother, 2 years younger than I. One (half)brother, 15 years older.

Kids: None, so here's where my pets come in. 8 year old Boxer, 5 year old siamese mix cat, 5 months old stray cat.

Nieces/nephews: 1 nephew from my younger brother, he'll turn 1 this September. My older brother has 2 kids, my niece turned 23 yesterday & my nephew will be 20.


Closeness: I'd say I'm close with all of my fam. I live 5 miles away from my parents, we see them about once a week. My younger brother is out of state but moving back soon, we hope. That's been hard, not having him & his wife & the new baby nearby. Older brother is in Bulgaria with his family, last saw them 8 years ago, but keeping in touch is easy with email. Not as hard as it used to be, that's for sure.

[strandinthewind]

My father's mother is the only living grandparent and at like 96, she is to fukcing men to die

My mother turns 80 next week and my dad is 72 - quelle scandal

I have one brother (41) and he has four kids 21 and 19 (his wife's froma previous marriage) and 4 and 2 (theirs).

I also have two beautimous Scotties which my mother refers to as my "illegitimate black children"

I have a string of ex's who either pay alimony or are dead, likely as a result of not paying alimony.

[skcin]

I guess I should mention I'm married. Been together 12 years, married almost 2.

[amber]

No, thanks, none for me. I couldn't possibly, I'm full.

[SuzeQuze]

Grandparents: All alive except my father's father who died way before I was born. He drowned when my dad was 12.

Parents: Both alive, they were married for 27 years-ish and have been apart for like 6.

Siblings: One brother 3 years younger. He is moving in with his GF 8/1 who has a 3 year old and I adore both of them! Oh yeah, he's okay too.

Kids: None that I know of . My cat, Mufasa, is now 3.

Nieces/nephews: I almost have a step niece who happens to look alot like I did when I was little! According to Mom she acts like me too.

Closeness: I'm closer with my family than I ever was. We weren't close when I was in my teens/early 20s because they didn't get me (nor me them). Plus my brother was a jerk but he has grown up a lot and the sweet kid he once was is coming through again. Which is probably how he attracted who I hope will be his life partner! I adore her.

My mother getting cancer brought us closer too. She made me and my brother write her a note of forgiveness for her 50th birthday. I resented it but it actually made our relationship grow a lot. She carries so much guilt! Also just the wakeup call that she is not going to be here forever, the reality of how much I would miss her, really sunk in.

Anyway, that's enough or I'm going to step into "overshare" territory. Okay, I'm already there!

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by skcin

I guess I should mention I'm married. Been together 12 years, married almost 2.

and, unlike your others, he's straight

[amber]

But seriously.

My mom and dad got married when I was 15, are still together.

Me only child *does tiny spoiled girl dance in my chair*

Mom's side - Grandma, Great Aunt, Regular Aunt, Uncle. Oh, and second cousin I never see.

Cousins - My aunt has 2 kids(16 &15), my uncle has one. (16)

Dad's side - Grandpa, Uncle, Great Uncle, and millions of various cousins I don't really know.

I never really visited my dad's family growing up, so I don't know them well. My grandpa is cool, and can still kick our asses at tennis.

My mom divorced her mom and brother and sister, and never sees them. So, I don't really see them either, even though I grew up very close to them. I've seen them a few times, but we used to all gather on the holidays, which now we don't do.

I will never have neices or nephews, for the obvious reason that I have no brothers or sisters.
I don't see my parents that much, but we're pretty close. Because we're all the same, really. Hahaha. Though when I was young I was closer with my dad and hated my mom, now my mom is nice so I'm a bit closer with her.

[jannieC]

Grandparents- All dead by the time I was nine. Isn't that sad? I never got to be doted on.

Parents- Dad died at age 54 when I was 17. Very traumatic and life changing.

Siblings- One older sister (42 sorry, that freaks me out), one younger brother (36).

Closeness- Very close with my mother- this closeness happened when I was in my mid to late twenties. She lives in a separate apartment in the basement of our house. Relatively (heh) close with my sister. She lives in NY with her husband and three kids. I adore my nieces (14 year old twins) and nephew (6 years old) but never get to see them. I haven't spoken to my brother in about 5 years- don't ask. Last I was told, he lives in Florida.

Married for 5 years but have been with my husband for eleven years. I have a twelve year old step-son who lives primarily with us. I'm abnormally close with my step-son's mother (and believe me, we didn't start out that way). So close that we're thinking about taking it to Oprah and/or Dr. Phil and capitalizing on it. (If anyone is interested in that, I'll be happy to expound).

I was married once before VERY briefly but have a 19 year old "step-daughter" that I keep in contact with via the internet. That's all from me!

[bretonbanquet]

Small family:

One Grandparent - Grandmother on Mum's side (79) - the other three are long gone (1976, 1986, 1996 - I am hoping 2006 passes without completing the quartet )

Mum (58) and Dad (60) called it quits many years ago, and never speak to each other.

Brother (37) lives in London with girlfriend and her son - I think my brother is splitting fairly soon.

One aunt (55), but no uncles, cousins, nieces or nephews - makes Christmas dead easy.

No kids, no wife, no girlfriend, (no pets ) Does my car count?

God, doesn't that make my family sound like a jolly bunch of people? We are all fairly content with life, if that matters, which surely it does

[DrummerDeanna]

What an interesting idea!

Grandparents: On dad's side: I remember not liking them much when I was a kid. My grandmother (Cuca, pronounced KOO-CAH) began to resemble Nosforatu as she aged, but she did keep a big vat of lard and bacon grease by her stove - she cooked everything in it. My grandfather never washed and I can still remember the way he smelled. They also never cleaned their bathroom - and I do remember that everytime..EVERYTIME I went in there, there was at least one roach in the bathtub. Their house was ancient and had no foundation, years ago it was raised to build one and it turns out the house was on the verge of collapse due to thousands of bug and rat tunnels under it. Oh - and I used to call them by my other grandparent's names.

On my mom's side: I ADORED my grandma as a kid..she was the funnest grandma ever. I used to refer to my grandpa as boring - but enjoyed him as well. He used to pretty much sit around and watch tv - but we had fun sitting in his chair and waiting for him to yell, "GET OUT OF MY CHAIR MEATHEAD!"

Now -they're getting old and the health is failing and my grandma tries my patience very much - but I love them both and they were a big factor in my moving closer to NM.

My mom: No comment - you could write a book though.

My dad: Convicted pedophile, luckily left when I was 7 - but was in prison when I was 3-5...I haven't spoken to him in years. The last I heard he's living in Phoenix and runs drugs between there and New Mexico. Oh - and I did hear that years ago he saw my sister and I at a Big Lots and followed us around..that CREEPED me out.

I've got many aunts and uncles - the only family I truly consider though are on my mom's side.

Closeness My whole extended family used to be close -but now (after my uncle sunk my grandpa's business and got it involved in shady dealings - thus rendering my grandparent bankrupt and pretty much homeless) there are no more big gatherings and everyone is mad at everyone else.

I stick to my mom and my sister/bro-in-law/nephew

[chiliD]

Disclaimer: I'm adopted...all biological relatives are "unknown".

GRANDPARENTS: all deceased, have been for some time. The youngest of the four would be about 115-120 years old about now.

PARENTS: Both alive & kickin' in their mid-70s...actually, they're probably in better shape & health than I am.

AUNTS/UNCLES:
Paternal: Dad was 2nd youngest of 7...just he and his immediate older brother (and his wife) are still alive. The widow of his younger brother is still alive and has remarried, but remains close. There's been a run on funerals on this side of the family in the last few years.

Maternal: Mom was youngest of 8 (and was the only surviving twin at birth)...has two brothers still alive. One of my mom's sisters-in-law is still living.

COUSINS:
Paternal: 11 cousins, 10 still alive...lost my cousin Paul a few years ago. Some have spouses & kids, but I've lost track of who & how many. Despite being strewn around the country, my dad's side of the family has been VERY close and the FIRST cousins have kept in touch quite a bit...but, when it comes to the 2nd cousins, the family tree, for me, has gotten a bit hazy.

Maternal: who knows...sadly, I have never been really close to and haven't really kept in touch with my first cousins on my mom's side. (with the invention of email, that's changing) And, I'm totally in the dark as to the identities or whereabouts of the second cousins on this side of the family tree.

SIBLINGS: none...I'm an only child (see disclaimer. I there's a strong possibility that I have biological siblings, but they're totally unbeknownst to me)

CHILDREN: None. But, I have a stepdaughter & stepson-in-law (grandkid on the way!!). My "boy" Rudy (the rottweiler in my avatar) passed away 4+ years ago...what would've been his 12th birthday was this past Saturday (the 15th)

NIECES/NEPHEWS: Obviously, none. But, my parents are the God-parents of the daughter of long-time friends of the family (who have kind of taken on "sister" & "brother-in-law" roles, of sorts). So, in a way, she's kind of taking on the "niece" role of that weird family dynamic; the biological grandparents on both sides of their family aren't local; so, my parents have taken on the role of "grandparents". It's weird.

IN-LAWS: Father-in-law passed away 5+ years ago, Mother-in-law still kickin' and active. 1 human sister-in-law (and her husband)...no kids, but a chocolate lab puppy (well, now "teenager")...their previous dog passed away suddenly last summer (apologies to Martha Davis). One 9-yr old canine sister-in-law (a Beagle) who has moved in with us a year and a half ago, due to my mother-in-law not being able to continue taking care of her because of a household accident. My wife's family is VERY close, in heart, since they're unfortunately not all that close in proximity.

[jannieC]

Originally Posted by DrummerDeanna

My dad: Convicted pedophile, luckily left when I was 7 - but was in prison when I was 3-5...I haven't spoken to him in years. The last I heard he's living in Phoenix and runs drugs between there and New Mexico. Oh - and I did hear that years ago he saw my sister and I at a Big Lots and followed us around..that CREEPED me out.

Deanna- that's so sad, but you have really rised above all that- which is amazing and wonderful!

Originally Posted by DrummerDeanna

I've got many aunts and uncles - the only family I truly consider though are on my mom's side.

I forgot to mention in my earlier post; my parents were both only children so I have ZERO aunts, uncles, or cousins.

[amber]

Originally Posted by bretonbanquet

Small family:

One Grandparent - Grandmother on Mum's side (79) - the other three are long gone (1976, 1986, 1996 - I am hoping 2006 passes without completing the quartet )

Mum (58) and Dad (60) called it quits many years ago, and never speak to each other.

Brother (37) lives in London with girlfriend and her son - I think my brother is splitting fairly soon.

One aunt (55), but no uncles, cousins, nieces or nephews - makes Christmas dead easy.

No kids, no wife, no girlfriend, (no pets ) Does my car count?

God, doesn't that make my family sound like a jolly bunch of people? We are all fairly content with life, if that matters, which surely it does

It's sounds fine to me. You know what pisses me off? The joyous sounds of laughter and shouting from small children. One child is okay. After that, the decibels are too much.

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by jannieC

Deanna- that's so sad, but you have really rised above all that- which is amazing and wonderful!

Yeah - I was too young, and thankfully wasn't abused myself - but my sister and I both look at who we're related to and wonder how we ever turned out well-adjusted and normal - the only thing we can think of is "education is the key" heh.

Originally Posted by jannieC

I forgot to mention in my earlier post; my parents were both only children so I have ZERO aunts, uncles, or cousins.

You can have mine...I will send you their information Hope you like motorcyles, cheap beer and pot!

[bretonbanquet]

Originally Posted by amber

It's sounds fine to me. You know what pisses me off? The joyous sounds of laughter and shouting from small children. One child is okay. After that, the decibels are too much.

Oh God, I couldn't agree more. Joy should be withheld from children who insist on celebrating it in a noisy fashion. No wait, I sound like Hitler or something. Scratch that. Maybe there should just be a two-minute warning for people like us when noisy children and joy are brought together. There, now I just sound like Goebbels.