Your families

[sara1998]

Originally Posted by suzyvermoesen

Your daughters are gorgeous !

Thank you so much!

Originally Posted by suzyvermoesen

Nou moe ! I started counting them but lost count twice

I counted 70...

[rbs3676]

My Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past summer and we had a huge family celebration at my parents summer home in Colorado.
I am extremely close to my parents -- they are such wonderful, sweet people and I adore them to no end. I live about 10 minutes away from them.
I am the oldest of three children. Both of my siblings are married. My brother lives about 7 minutes away from me and has has two daughters who I am very close to. My sister has two daughters and a son. They live about 4 hours away so we don't see them as often as we'd like.
My Mom was an only child so there are nothing but cousins are her side. My Dad is from Boston and had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. I'm pretty tight with one of my aunts and her daughter (my favorite cousin). I try to see them every summer in Cape Cod and we talk on the phone all of the time.
Family is very important to me.

The picture attached was taken last fall at my family's ranch.

rbs

[Sarah]

meh.

I would consider my "immediate" family to be my mom, dad, and older sister. Well, now I guess I count my brother-in-law as well.

I have one aunt on my mom's side... they are super close, so as a rule, we're close as well I suppose. My aunt has 2 daughters and my mom has 2 daughters, and growing up it was kind of like 4 sisters, because we'd always be at my grandmother's house. My aunt's oldest daughter is the oldest of all of us, and I am the youngest... the total distance of age is 10 years. My sister is next (she's 8 years older), then my other cousin (6 years older), then me. They always picked on me like ****ing hell... it's probably the primary reason I am so feisty. It only took me a few years to learn how to fight back. Other than my step-uncle's family members, this is it for this side of the family pretty much. Since my grandparents passed away, we never see their siblings and families anymore.. and truth be told, I don't like going to family gatherings and talking to everyone anyway. It's embarassing when they start talking about me when I was little. And when all the memories start coming back up, I start getting picked on again. I can't tell you how many holidays have been ruined for me because they think it's just so goddamn funny to pester me to death. I love my family because they're my family, but I honestly don't feel close to anyone.

My dad's side of the family is ridiculously dysfunctional. My abusive, alcoholic grandfather died before I was born. My grandmother remarried when I was quite small, but apparently that guy was an asshole, too. He got alzheimers, was in the nursing home for a long while, and died when I was probably like.. 8 or so. When he went in the nursing home, my great aunt moved in to live with my grandmother there... so to me, I've always had a granny and a Frances on that side. As far as aunts and uncles go... my dad's oldest brother died in a bridge collapse back in the early 70s. His middle brother is married and has 2 children, a boy and a girl. His son and my sister are the same age and were close growing up.. his daughter is, i really don't know how old she is to be honest. 3 years or 4 years older maybe. Again, I'm the youngest. When one of my great aunts passed away, my dad totally just sat back and let my uncle **** us out of a boatload of inheritance money.. for the sake of not disrupting the family. It didn't really work. We don't see or talk to each other anymore. It's all just too weird. And to be really honest, despite the fact that they live literally 5 minutes away, I probably see my granny and Frances like, 4 times a year. Maybe. I've flaked out of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter for the last 4 years now. It just makes me feel like a wanker and a liar to go over there for holiday stuff.. especially if my aunt and uncle are there. Every year, we always said, let's not exchange gifts, and then did anyway. No, it shouldn't be about the gifts... but my aunt shouldn't really give my sister and I the ****ing Elizabeth Arden or Estee Lauder holiday gift set that you get when you buy someone else's present like.. 6, 7 years in a row. Gee, thanks.. this is great. I can't even ****ing take it back. Eyeroll.

It's nice to see that people enjoy their families. My parents are great. My sister and brother-in-law are great (when my sister and I aren't at each other's throats because we have clashing personalities), but they don't live close at all. My aunt is great, but she's in a different town and always busy. I hardly ever see my "sister cousins" anymore. And the oldest one is a total wingnut loon anyway now... you can't really have a conversation with her at all, she's just totally off her rocker. So yeah. I can't wait to eat turkey and stuffing, but I ****ing dread the holidays like crazy burning hell every year. I always volunteer to work so that I have an excuse to drive separately.. so I can leave early.

Being around everyone is just sensory overload, and it kicks my anxiety problems into double high gear. And with the whole family being southern Baptist... yeah. I kind of just sit there, act like I'm listening, and try to cover up the fact that I am trembling and shuddering with nervousness and anxiety. Blah. But I will say it again that my parents are really great. We've had our clashes and aren't very, very close.. but I'm not a warm person anyway. I always wish that I was.. but I just can't bring myself to hug or say I love you. I don't really know why.

[David]

Originally Posted by rbs3676

My Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past summer and we had a huge family celebration at my parents summer home in Colorado.

Wow! Your parents & my parents both celebrated their 50th this past summer (my parents in June). They got married in 1957. They were still living in St. Louis, where they were both born & reared. They moved to California in 1964.

[sara1998]

Originally Posted by Sarah

And with the whole family being southern Baptist... yeah. I kind of just sit there, act like I'm listening, and try to cover up the fact that I am trembling and shuddering with nervousness and anxiety. Blah. But I will say it again that my parents are really great. We've had our clashes and aren't very, very close.. but I'm not a warm person anyway. I always wish that I was.. but I just can't bring myself to hug or say I love you. I don't really know why.

My moms side of the family (her moms side) were all southern baptists also. That's why my grandmother and I never got along, because I'm tattood and pierced, and had a child out of wedlock. When my husband passed, she came, was pissed off because I didn't bury him in a suit and tie, and had a closed casket, and left the day before the actual funeral. That was it for me. The only reason I had contact with them after that was for my mothers sake. She even went so far as to tell the rest of the family (down south) not to send flowers... I didn't need them.

Sarah, there's nothing wrong with being distant with your family. If you don't get along with them, you just don't.

[sara1998]

Originally Posted by rbs3676

My Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past summer and we had a huge family celebration at my parents summer home in Colorado.
I am extremely close to my parents -- they are such wonderful, sweet people and I adore them to no end. I live about 10 minutes away from them.
I am the oldest of three children. Both of my siblings are married. My brother lives about 7 minutes away from me and has has two daughters who I am very close to. My sister has two daughters and a son. They live about 4 hours away so we don't see them as often as we'd like.
My Mom was an only child so there are nothing but cousins are her side. My Dad is from Boston and had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. I'm pretty tight with one of my aunts and her daughter (my favorite cousin). I try to see them every summer in Cape Cod and we talk on the phone all of the time.
Family is very important to me.

The picture attached was taken last fall at my family's ranch.

rbs

Beautiful picture. That's amazing how well you all get along. I'm happy for you.

[mylittledemon]

I'm not close to anyone outside of my immediate family (brother, sister, mother, father). If I'm close to anyone else, it'd be my Dad's father...and my mother's 2 sisters. Thats pretty much it. I dont know more than half of my family members. The majority of them, I've never met.

My friends are really my family.

[suzyvermoesen]

Originally Posted by Sarah

meh.

We've had our clashes and aren't very, very close.. but I'm not a warm person anyway. I always wish that I was.. but I just can't bring myself to hug or say I love you. I don't really know why.

I used to feel that way about myself for a long time too, untill i met my husband. Him i could hug and tell him i loved him.
I don't think i've ever told my parents that i loved them. The past couple of years i've tried hugging them and at first they kinda turned to stone when i did, but now the have loosened up a bit, especially my mom.
As a kid, growing up, there never was any hugging going on at our house. Why, i have no idea, but i'm certain that it did influence my behaviour.
What i mean to say Sarah is that, don't say you're not a warm person, cause i think deep inside you are. It just takes the right people to bring that out.
here's a start :

[danax6]

Originally Posted by Sarah

but I'm not a warm person anyway. I always wish that I was.. but I just can't bring myself to hug or say I love you. I don't really know why.

Same here, babe. Nobody in my family really is, but we have a way of showing it without all the mushy, touchy feely crap. Besides, we just know. But it has caused a lot of problems with guys and even friends over the years.

[Miss Vicky]

My family is pretty small. There's just me, my parents and my (older) brother. I still live at home, so in terms of proximity I am very close to my parents, but mostly my family just sort of tolerates each other. That's not to say that we don't love each other but we see eye to eye on almost nothing and pretty much all just do our own thing. My brother lives in Washington, so I rarely see him.

As for extended family, there isn't anyone left alive on my mother's side. On my father's side I have three uncles, two aunts (by marriage) and several cousins as well as my grandmother, but I really only ever see them at Christmas (and sometimes not even then).

[GypsySorcerer]

I'm an only child, and my mother is also. So on her side, the only "immediate" family I have is my grandmother. She lived several hours away when I was growing up, so I only saw her about twice a year. She has since moved back near my parents, but I only go home about twice a year. I don't really feel I know her all that well, but I am grateful for her relatively good health and strong mind.

On my dad's side, both of my grandparents are still living, plus there's two aunts and four cousins. We aren't particularly close, although I love them all and I was closer to them growing up. Our family (my mom, dad and I) are sort of the outsiders. The rest of them all live by each other and are very similar in terms of ideas and thoughts. The dissimilarities between us and them caused some problems over the years, though things stay relatively peaceful now.

[Sarah]

thanks for the nice comments guys. you're sweet.

i kind of understand what you mean about turning to stone, suzy. my dad is like that. he's definitely the silent, Marine Corps vet who says a total of about 5 words per day. if we're out and about.. say if we go shopping with mom or something and he and i are standing around waiting for her to just come the hell on alreadyyyy he'll throw his arm around my shoulder or something, but other than that i can't really remember the last time we hugged.

i just feel bad because of my mom though... she's the really sweet, emotional type. i know she wants to be hugged and all that stuff.. i just can't do it. i pick up my little dog to give her a hug, and my mom is like... "everyone likes the dog more than me." that makes me feel bad.. but a little dog is different, i think. not that a mother isn't unconditional love.. baaahh.. i don't know. i write her cards for her birthday and mother's day to tell her that i love her and i'm sorry that i'm not as sweet.. but i still feel like a bad daughter almost all of the time. (especially since my sister has always been perfect, perfect, perfect. eyerolllllllll.)

[sara1998]

Originally Posted by Sarah

(especially since my sister has always been perfect, perfect, perfect. eyerolllllllll.)

So ****ing glad I didn't have siblings.....

[Chrislit18]

My immediate family is very small.
I live with just my mother. and I am an only child [woohoo!!!]
Then again, I do count my cats as family, because I love them so much.

I see my dad once [hopefully gonna begin to be twice] a month. He is married, but no other children.

My paternal grandparents have both passed away, I never met my grandmother on that side, but I was pretty close to my grandfather on that side. He passed when I was turning 8, about a month before.]

My maternal grandparents are like my second family. I was wicked close to my grandfather on that side, he was like my father, but he passed away last year. And my grandmother and I have always been really close. We go out to eat with her like 3 times a week.

I have a crap load of extended family, but nothing special there.

My mom and I are like....sisters almost though. Like, shes only my mom when she wants to lecture me about stuff. We're wicked close, and I can talk to her about anything, and we're like best friends. We joke around so much, and I have more fun with her than with my schoolfriends [SHH!! haha].

I would love to post a pic of me and my mom, but I dont have one...well not recent.
Ill get one tonight, I have to show her how to use my camera anyway. haha.

[sara1998]

Originally Posted by Chrislit18

My mom and I are like....sisters almost though. Like, shes only my mom when she wants to lecture me about stuff. We're wicked close, and I can talk to her about anything, and we're like best friends. We joke around so much, and I have more fun with her than with my schoolfriends [SHH!! haha].

That's absolutely amazing. I'm so happy to hear that. My stepdaughter and I are really close like that.