Honest Christmas Discussion

Submitted by Honest Abe on
I thought we could use a thread to discuss ways to deal with the day today. If we are being honest, today can be tough, as having to be around family can suck. The nice thing to say is that its Christmas and we should all get along, but lets be honest... whos the bastard you gotta deal with today and whats your best suggestions to the board to get through today's family visits?
MGoBoard

Wolverdog

December 25th, 2017 at 10:23 AM ^

Bitter at life and struggle to be happy. Lost the Patriarch of the fam two years ago to cancer and now the aunt is just embittered. Captain or Jim in her diet soda and she eventually goes night night in the basement.

Joined: 12/10/2014

MGoPoints: 3076

Firstbase

December 25th, 2017 at 10:24 AM ^

... seven Christmas's ago, I've lived by the credo, "Shut up and eat your mush." So every Christmas I serve myself a healthy portion of mental mush. With that inside me, surviving relationships, good and bad, are no big deal. Water off a duck's back, as they say. Paint on the smile and always be the bigger person.

Joined: 09/30/2009

MGoPoints: 9369

jmdblue

December 25th, 2017 at 12:19 PM ^

Family moving, a strange falling out with my only uncle, my wonderful girlfriend's family being in FL.... I've spent the last number of Christmases alone.  I always have lots of offers, but I'm okay with it now.  The kids will arrive tonight, I'm taking care of a brand new lab pup, and I'm prepping a good albeit nontraditional meal.  Soon my gal will be back and we'll have our own little Christmas.

Joined: 12/01/2010

MGoPoints: 8655

Wendyk5

December 25th, 2017 at 10:25 AM ^

Unfortunately, I have a terrible cold and my cat needs to be put to sleep (we'll have to wait until tomorrow for that). We're going to see Star Wars which will be a very welcome distraction. 

Joined: 11/20/2008

MGoPoints: 67511

UMgradMSUdad

December 25th, 2017 at 2:19 PM ^

We've gone through this recently. We had two cats going through kidney failure.  The one declined rapidly.  She stopped eating, even refusing treats she was previously enthusiastic about.  The vet said with kidney failure they develop ulcers along the entire alimentary canal, and she had ulcers in her mouth that made eating painful. The vet put an iv input tube into one of her front legs and let me hold her for about ten minutes before she was injected with the medicine to stop her heart.  At first, I declined the time to just hold her, but I'm glad I relented.  It left me some time to just calm down and reflect.

Our current issue is one of my wife's friends got her a pair of kittens for Christmas.  We still have one cat, an 18 year old with kidney failure.  I fear the new kittens will drive him over the edge.

Joined: 07/02/2011

MGoPoints: 13178

CoverZero

December 25th, 2017 at 2:13 PM ^

Sorry to hear about your cat.

When my cat was alive, his thyroid started enlarging...I took him to a place called Nuclear Cat where they dosed him with nukes to shrink it.... the proceedure worked and he lived for several more years until a different type of cancer got him.

They think that the increase in enlarging of thyroids may have to do with the increase in canned cat foods....

Joined: 08/30/2014

MGoPoints: 14571

bluebyyou

December 25th, 2017 at 10:26 AM ^

My family is terrific and we are all together. There are at least a million different things to talk about. Avoid the ten topics that piss people off and that leaves you 999990 things to talk about.

Merry Christmas/happy holidays!!

Joined: 09/07/2009

MGoPoints: 18531

Sopwith

December 25th, 2017 at 10:30 AM ^

What people are willing to endure for the sake of “family togetherness.” Why does anyone get coerced into being a martyr on what should be a happy day, religious or otherwise? Your spouse is not forcing you to accept toxic personalities into your life. You’re agreeing.

NYT had an interesting piece on estrangement the other day— the comments as much as the article are worth s look. What some see as estrangement, others call “liberation.”

Debunking Myths About Estrangementhttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/well/family/debunking-myths-about-es…

Joined: 06/29/2010

MGoPoints: 60903

JBE

December 25th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^

I'm all for nuanced social and personal perspectives, but this comment has small basis in reality and oversensitivity written all over it. It's a time of the year to straighten that spine in the name of family solidarity and deal with them during Christmas. It's a few days. It's not a damn trauma. 

Joined: 08/18/2008

MGoPoints: 19316

Sopwith

December 25th, 2017 at 3:36 PM ^

by spending time on MGoBlog comment boards? Not sure how that makes you an authority on family dynamics, but I’m sure somehow in your world it does.

By the way, I spent a lovely Christmas with parents, aunts, cousins, and a few friends. I have no complaints about anyone’s behavior. The point is, don’t willingly put yourself in a situation you know will make you unhappy and then bitch about it.

Joined: 06/29/2010

MGoPoints: 60903

xtramelanin

December 25th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^

keep your gloves up at all times

no hitting after the bell

and when i say 'break' i mean it.  you'll get one warning and then i'll deduct a point after that.

 

now get ready to ruuuummmmbbbbllleeee!!

 

in seriousness, you/we/all of us have been extended grace a thousand more times than we will ever realize.  be grateful, and extend that same grace to others.  you/we haven't walked a mile in their shoes and if we had, we'd probably be a whole lot more sympathetic to their plight/opinion/the fact that they're a buckeye or sparty supporter.

 

Joined: 12/09/2014

MGoPoints: 15439

Birdman

December 25th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^

Also pretend everything is fucking amazing, all the gifts not just yours. Lie about all state of affairs, in any questions. Use the word tremendous enough to make Brady Hoke uncomfortable.

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 1509

reddogrjw

December 25th, 2017 at 10:36 AM ^

it is just her, my wife and I

 

she's 21 so we're going to watch all the Star Wars movies and get to where we can go see the new one before she heads back

 

relatives we don't get along with we don't bother with any more - but there are only 2 - one we haven't spoken to in decades and the other for 5+ years - makes things far more pleasant - you have to be on the same page with the rest of your immediate family for this to work though

Joined: 07/06/2016

MGoPoints: 9846

triangle_M

December 25th, 2017 at 10:39 AM ^

Father-in-law has the emotional IQ of a ten-year-old. Talks non-stop about politics, his former career (paper science) and his white heritage. Its a fuckin joy.

Joined: 03/09/2011

MGoPoints: 5648

triangle_M

December 25th, 2017 at 9:40 PM ^

If you have a low emotional IQ, or are just intellectually lazy, you gravitate towards tropes because that's the level of complexity and uncertainty your willing to accept. It is a tired subject especially in year ten.

Joined: 03/09/2011

MGoPoints: 5648