Family Get-togethers: Why are they so awkward!?

[shadowkiss]

Hiyas :)

does anyone else here feel oober uncomfortable at family get-togethers? :geez:

When i was little, i remember them as being a blast... my whole family (the ones that live near us that is) would get together every sunday for brunch, and we kept in touch and we all had a wonderful time together. but then we started getting older... and we stopped having those weekly get-togethers :( and then we started becoming detatched... and people developed grudges.. and now everyone is so seclusive, and so mean! I'm pretty neutral.. i prefer to stay out of my familys petty arguments... but i know who is fighting, and why, and Ugh! it just drives me insane! im so sad we arent close anymore...i feel so awkward around the majority of my family members. they have a bad habit of talking about others behind their backs and they have said some truely horrible things (some that arent even true!)

does anyone else have this problem? i just wanna know why family get-togethers are so dreaded... they dont have to be.... :sadeyes:

[Karma Chameleon]

Hiyas :)

does anyone else here feel oober uncomfortable at family get-togethers? :geez:

When i was little, i remember them as being a blast... my whole family (the ones that live near us that is) would get together every sunday for brunch, and we kept in touch and we all had a wonderful time together. but then we started getting older... and we stopped having those weekly get-togethers :( and then we started becoming detatched... and people developed grudges.. and now everyone is so seclusive, and so mean! I'm pretty neutral.. i prefer to stay out of my familys petty arguments... but i know who is fighting, and why, and Ugh! it just drives me insane! im so sad we arent close anymore...i feel so awkward around the majority of my family members. they have a bad habit of talking about others behind their backs and they have said some truely horrible things (some that arent even true!)

does anyone else have this problem? i just wanna know why family get-togethers are so dreaded... they dont have to be.... :sadeyes:

I loathe family get-to-gathers because I am either ignored or treated mean. :grrrrr: And by ignored, let me give you an example: On Christmas, I would get skipped right over when it came to getting hugs or presents. My so-called family members would intentionally go out of their way to act as if I didn't exist. None of them wanted to any spend time with me, to get to know me; but yet, they all would act arrogant and tell me that they knew all about me because they set around and talk about me. Man, did that tick me off.

So yes, I would feel awkward around them, I so badly wanted to have them be my family and because they didn't I ended up changing my entire name legally as a form of disowning them.

I think family get-to-gathers can be so dreaded because you're together with the wrong family. Some people aren't worth continuing to try to be friendly with or continue to have contact with.

[shadowkiss]

i dunno.. something that frustrates me is when they think that they have the right to tell me what to do, or act like they actually know me. i have acquaintances who know me better than most of my family. they dont even know the simplest things about me, like what my favorite color is, or what kind of music i like, just pathetic little things like that! i dono.. i just find it funny when they feel that their rights to control me stem soley from the fact that they are blood related.

Meh. i know im ranting... but i just dont understand!

[Ceres]

The exact same thing happened in my family as well. I cant explain it, but I do think its nothing new to family dynamics. It simply cycles and when we were kids and it was fun, we were blissfully ignorant as to what the adults were fighting about. I wonder if the impression that Europeans have better relations with extended family is romanticism or really true? If so, what are they doing right?

[BrigidMoon]

My last family get together was my mom's wedding. It was okay for the most part but one part where my daughter got grabbed in the back of the neck made me so mad and I still am!

[Karma Chameleon]

i dunno.. something that frustrates me is when they think that they have the right to tell me what to do, or act like they actually know me. i have acquaintances who know me better than most of my family. they dont even know the simplest things about me, like what my favorite color is, or what kind of music i like, just pathetic little things like that! i dono.. i just find it funny when they feel that their rights to control me stem soley from the fact that they are blood related.

Meh. i know im ranting... but i just dont understand!

That really annoys me as well. I hate it when people assume that they know you and yet they don't at all. They should but they don't care.

[QUEEN OF THE DAMNED]

Because you cant pick your family.

My family get togethers aren't too bad.....but at some point (because pretty much all my family are alcoholics) everyone gets to fighting...then the kids all act up (of course) and then it is VERY loud. Since I live interstate, about 1300 Kms from my family then I dont get to see them much which is sad, but it also makes the reunions all teh sweeter for me and I definately make more of an effort ;)

[Amethyst Rose]

I actually really like my family get togethers.....but then, I really like my family. The one or two members of the family I don't particularily like, I just ignore, but I certainly don't give them the power to annoy me or make me feel uncomfortable.

[shadowkiss]

I actually really like my family get togethers.....but then, I really like my family. The one or two members of the family I don't particularily like, I just ignore, but I certainly don't give them the power to annoy me or make me feel uncomfortable.


its not that i dislike my family... i just hate some of the things they do. i'll be the first to admit, i have a very critical family. they arent bad people.. but sensitivity on their part and a little more respect would make them much easier to be around.

[bladeraven]

you can always unleash your cricket on them :D