Do you like your relatives?

[jaysonsmom]

I love my parents, talk to them every day despite being half way around the world. My bro and I live 20 minutes away from each other , but rarely talk. I would say we tolerate each other because we do not approve of our choices of spouses. My father and mother in-law have both passed, my dh also has 3 sisters….I can only say I get along with everyone. Same goes for extended family. There is no bad blood, but we are not super close!

 

[Dandi]

Yes, I adore my family. My 3 brothers and I feel most fortunate to have had a great childhood surrounded by love, that has extended into adulthood. We are all close, and are lucky to have wonderful parents, who are very involved in my kids' lives. I get along well with all of our extended family members, thankfully there are no nutjobs on either side.

DH's family, on the other hand...polar opposites! He avoids them all as much as he can

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

this is a wonderful thread
im enjoying the love
but also feeling kinda nornal reading about the families who dont get along

i know it would make my mum and dad sad i bearly even text my sister but my dad also wouldnt understand why she's gone all left wing

as for cousins
when your a kid you see them all the time, like they are your best freinds
sleeping over, birthday parties, weekends, school holidays, lunches and dinners
then as one grows up and ages you just have zero in common with them any more

feel out with my best cousin years ago
yes politics, but i honestly am over being the polite one, the one that says nothing, just sucking up their point of view while they ram their point of view down my throat especially as my political alligences havn't changed so they know im never going to be the swing vote

i guess its kinda sad reading this thread that politics is tearing families apart

 

[tyty333]

I like the ones that are left. My parents are great 98.9% of the time. I have 2 brothers who I don't really communicate with
that often. Just not much in common but we get along just fine. My MIL and FIL are now gone so I'll just leave it at that.
I get along with all my DH's brothers and wives. They are all pretty nice people even though some are a little different.
Different is Ok as long as they are not annoying or offensive.

 

[wildcat03]

My parents are ok as long as things are done their way. They were very offended when I did not want them coming to stay in our house while we awaited the birth of their first grandchild. We invited them to come visit when baby was 9 days old (mind you, we arrived home from the hospital when baby was 6 days old and our house was under serious renovation) and you would think we kept them away for years.

My in-laws are nut jobs. My FIL has stolen tens of thousands from my husband by not paying him on business deals. Whatever, I blame it partially on my husband because he KNEW his dad was a thief. My MIL thinks I want all of her parenting and life advice. I don't. We live and parent very differently and that's ok. They are quite angry with us because we told them that we weren't comfortable letting them visit us and our two unvaccinated children (one of whom was days old) when they'd been traveling internationally to a wedding and then to a funeral all within two weeks during COVID.

Oh, I forgot the kicker. FIL called us a couple years ago and told us he'd angered a business associate who had threatened his life. Said associate had then recited OUR address to FIL (FIL and husband have the same first name and we only live 30 minutes from them). So FIL called us to warn us that someone might come after us.

 

[whitewave]

Yes, I absolutely love my family! There were 4 children when I was growing up & my parents went above & beyond to give us a secure, happy home that was full of laughter & love. We never went without but we were also raised with a solid work ethic & to be the very best that we could be, no matter our abilities.

My mother was an only child & my father had 4 siblings, who ALL went on to have 4 children of their own. My cousins are plentiful & scattered far & wide these days, but we catch up at infrequent weddings & funerals, plus social media helps.

My own family are all local - we live scattered across 4 different villages within the same County. We've all travelled & lived abroad, but ultimately settled back near to home. We lost my dad suddenly when I was 27 & that really cemented our bond & our love & support for each other & for our mum. Between the 4 of us we now have 9 children & Covid aside, we get together & celebrate every single birthday at each others homes. Our children are all good friends & twice each year, we all pack up & head down to a huge old farmhouse on the Ise of Anglesey in North Wales, which has been in my family forever & is mostly let out as holiday rental, for a long weekend of beach walking, lovely food, games & drinks. There are kids & dogs running everywhere, muddy wellies, no sleep, racing games running up the main staircase & hurtling down what was the Servants staircase at the far end against a timer & plenty of hangovers. We are heading down a week tomorrow for the first sime since Oct 2019 thanks to Covid, so we are all excited. Exotic holidays have nothing on the muddy family farmhouse holidays & we are very lucky that we all really like each other.

Im so thrilled that someone has this. Bless.

 

[Missie1]

I absolutely adore my family. My mom who is deceased had 8 siblings who were devoted to each other and raised all their children together. I now host the annual Thanksgiving Dinner that my mom did for 50 plus people and our Cousins Christmas Brunch. My sissy is my right hand and we adore one another. My DH family is a bit weird but I just speak and mind my business.

 

[elle_71125]

Not particularly. I love my parents and most days I even like them. I have a brother I’m not remotely close to. We have nothing in common with the exception of our parents. It may sound bad but I could take or leave the rest of them.

One major exception: I absolutely adore my nieces. They’re both in the dreaded teen years but I have hopes they’ll turn into good people again soon.

 

[kenny]

I must have some, somewhere.
Haven't seen or heard from one for decades.

I like that.

 

[MamaBee]

I ADORE my sister!!!!! Absolutely adore!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone else is tolerable I think.

If I don't look into the baggage with my parents and take on a parental role with them, it's actually fairly pleasant.

I'd say they're all ok with the exception of my little sister who is amazing. She's my baby, child, best friend, sibling all rolled into one.

@mellowyellowgirl I love how much you love your sister..

 

[Jambalaya]

Well.....my parents were VERY different people. And their children took strongly after one or the other, resulting in two siblings who are also VERY different people. I take after my mother's side, and unfortunately I have no family left on her side because she was an only child. I'm very similar to my mother, who was very similar to her father, who died in 1990. I had much in common with them both. I love and respect my numerous relatives from my dad's side, and I'm glad I have them since I have no maternal-side relatives left, but it just isn't the same with them. They have a totally different cast of character from me. Not bad different, just different-different. Their minds work in totally different ways, their talents are different, they see the world differently and relate to others differently...I would never think we were related!

I'm very grateful to have the family that I have, but I do wish I had at least one family member who was a little more like me. Perhaps another sibling who turned out to be like my mother's side, like I am, or some maternal cousins. But it wasn't to be. My friends and I have significantly more in common than me and my paternal family. But weirdly, the people in my life with whom I have the most in common are my co-workers! What I do is a bit of a calling - hard work and low pay - and I really feel that my co-workers are my tribe. I feel like we all have the same basic personality and that we have more in common than I do with my relatives.

I was close to a cousin of mine, but she has made such terrible choices that we haven't spoken in a few years. She married a sleazeball who hits her and I bit my lip for ten years, until she told me she was divorcing him. I said thank god and told her the truth about how much I hate him, they got back together, and that was the end of our friendship. I'm not too sorry, as long as she's with him. That situation is an unsolvable nightmare, I can do nothing about it, and I don't want to stand by and watch, especially not as she has two children. It's easier this way. She has money and she also has two wealthy brothers who are ready to help her out if necessary.

So, yeah. I'm fine with my family but I think life would be even better if I had a clutch of relatives who were more like me. I wish my parents hadn't been such vastly different people. It resulted in two sides of the family who are insanely different from each other, and of course I'm like the side that's died out! It makes me wonder if the happiest families are those where the parents are quite similar to each other, resulting in a more cohesive family identity? Just a thought. I just know that I've never been overly comfortable with my paternal side, which is a pity.