Do you enjoy visiting your family (parents, siblings, children, grandparents, in-laws, etc. )? (father, guilty)
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This will sound bad, but it's like swallowing a bitter pill for me (and him, he calls it 'brutal'). It's completely obligatory for both of us with certain family members.
But my husband's parents are dysfunctional and so is my family (drunks) so it's difficult for many reasons. I feel like I drag my body over there. This will also sound bad, but I really wish our next move was at a distance where we didn't have to visit so much.
My family has always been pretty close but even more so since my dad passed away. I enjoy going to visit my mom and/or my siblings but it feels kind of empty without my dad there. Christmas feels especially hollow but we do our best to try to make it as pleasant as possible. I just know that we all miss him so much and it's hard to fake like he's not the hugest missing piece of our family gatherings.
I like visiting with my family. My in-laws? Not so much. They are no fun, have nothing to talk about, and never ask us anything about our lives. With them, all we ever talk about is their latest trip or current travel plans. Who cares? Not me.
My family has always been pretty close but even more so since my dad passed away. I enjoy going to visit my mom and/or my siblings but it feels kind of empty without my dad there. Christmas feels especially hollow but we do our best to try to make it as pleasant as possible. I just know that we all miss him so much and it's hard to fake like he's not the hugest missing piece of our family gatherings.
ugh, so sorry top hear that. I could only imagine how strange that must be.,. .
My parents live in Philly and I in Miami, so my parents came down to visit me 2 weeks ago to escape the cold. The first day here my dad eats some salmon dip and gets food poisoning... basically holed up in his hotel room for 2 days.... missing our outings to the beach, restaurants, site-seeing, etc... And u know what? It felt weird not to have my dad on these things? A little emptier? Not to say I didn't enjoy it, but without my Dad there...the energy just seemed off..... So, it got me thinking "jesus christ what if my dad passes soon...this is what it'll be like?" and I got kinda depressed lol.
But back to topic, I do generally enjoy seeing my Mom and dad and siblings. Yes, on occasions it can be annoying, but overall I enjoy it and love them very much.
I only dislike visiting my mom in her assisted living. Her apartment is like a sauna and I sit there sweating, bored out of my skull and trying not to fall asleep (she talks on and on but it's more like droning on and on) until I feel I've been there long enough to leave without feeling guilty.
My family loves drama & keeps dragging me into their issues. I moved far away from home & hardly visit them. We have grown apart & don't have much to talk about so we keep it formal. During phone calls I start browsing on my smartphones so I stay distracted. When I visit them I try to stay busy catching up with other relatives & friends so that I don't have a big meltdown that ends up in a fight. Its better to move away. You will get along much better with them.
I love visiting my family as long as their young children are well behaved. Otherwise, I avoid it or invite the adults to visit me.
My parents are both deceased, so siblings & the next generations need to stay connected. We have different lifestyles, religious beliefs, incomes, interests, etc. But we are all supportive of one another in good times & bad. I didn't realize what a blessing this was as a child. But as an adult, I've realized how some people don't have this connection/support within their family.
Visiting my mother is painful. She wants emotional intimacy, and I just don't trust her that much after a childhood characterized by her constant criticism and unstable behavior. I also as an adult find her frivolous, narrow-minded and willfully ignorant, with a capacity to turn downright nasty without warning. But she DOES love me with all her heart, and she has worked really hard on respecting my boundaries and reaching out, so when I'm in my home state, I try to devote as much time as I can to her. But it's no fun at all. Fortunately, she has some lovely friends, and I get along great with them.
My father (divorced from my mother) is a diagnosed narcissist, but I love visiting him. He too has learned about boundaries over the years (I think my parents both realized they would lose me entirely if they didn't), and he is better than my mother about respecting them. He doesn't push for that emotional intimacy my mother is so frantic to have - we're content to just go out for breakfast and shoot the breeze. He tells me stories about his childhood and his latest crazy escapade (at 83 he is still always getting into trouble), and sometimes his best friend, whom I adore, will join us and the two of them will get to talking about all sorts of stuff.
But on my most recent visit home, I was ridiculously happy when I had breakfast with my two favorite cousins and their families. The three of us are just happy spending time together. It's this weird safe place where we can just be ourselves and not worry about any criticism.
I love visiting my husband's family. Mine is awful. I am put down, told how horrible I am and just fight the entire time. It is a chore.
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