nbr: are you close with your family?

w2smd

as the holidays are approaching it just reminds me that i am not close with my family.. i talk to my mom about every other day or so, but if we get together in person i want to strangle her in about 30 mins. i've been married for 3 years now, and we've since moved 8+ and12+ hours away from where our families are. this is about the time - and it has already started happening - that i get the guilt trip about not wanting to travel back for family holiday dinners. i hate to say it, but i have zero desire to do so. nobody from my extended family has contacted me in YEARS.. (yes, i understand the phone works both ways) and i just do not really have a desire to drive a long way to spend time with people i feel i dont even know anymore...i know im not the only person who's lost touch with family members.. do you feel pressure from family to rekindle relationships?? did things change for you when you had your own children, did you feel differently about "family" events??

bumpuser794640

We're very close with my mom and DH's entire family.  Some other family members I'm not wild about, but we don't have big family get togethers with them, so it's not a big deal.  I can't imagine the holidays without our families, but I understand that not everyone is the same way.

frootloop

i am super close with my whole family, we have had sunday dinner with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone as long as i can remember

MH on the other hand, has no contact with his family.  he has spoke to them once since ive known him

emilie1116

Sorry you feel this way. I love my family and can't wait to go home to see them at Christmas.

lo45fd98wq32

My family and DH's family are all very close. I am so heartbroken that I can't see them over the holidays, for the 2nd year in a row. Stupid economy and us living in CA.

StephanieBride1

Our parents, yes. More so now that we are adults and have lives. And our grandparents. We all live within 45 minutes of each other, so it works out.  But not really close with extended family. I really don't have anything in common with my cousins.

heather_09_15_07

The family I'm "not close" with I actually don't talk to at all so we don't bother each other.

MattysGirl81

I'm very close with my family.  I hate living so far away and can't wait to go back for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Mrs_Liberto

I am close with my only surviving grandma. We talk almost daily.

My parents are awful, self absorbed people, but my mom's siblings are awesome and I love my cousins to death. My dad's side is full of a bunch of holier-than-thou religious whackjobs who refused to attend our wedding because it was officiated by an Episcopal priest and "Episcopals let in 'the gays' ". We avoid my dad's family at all costs.

DH's family is incredibly tight knit and we both adore his parents/siblings.

Lyssapee

We're very close with both sides of our families... We share a mother daughter with my in-laws, and my parent's live about 10 minutes away.  Even our parents are very close and enjoy each others company. 

We know eventually, when we move we will either live near his or my parents.  We both grew up very close with our aunt, uncels, and grandparents, and we would like our children (that don't even exist) to be close to their family as well...

rebus82

I talk to my parents maybe once a month, slightly more often if something is going on like planning a visit (they live 8 hours away). DH's mother and sister live within 5 min of us, he talks them, on average, maybe once every two weeks.?

So, we care about our families, but I'd never consider either of us "close" to them. As for extended families (aside from one aunt/uncle who I see a few times a year) ... I never talk to them unless we're around them or something has happened, like a death. ?