Do you enjoy spending time with your IMMEDIATE family?

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maryd523
maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
in Chit-Chat
I'm talking about brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons. When you are all together, what is it like and is it enjoyable?

I ask because I work in the restaurant industry, and some of the families I see that come in are...well...I always wonder what it's like in their home on Christmas. No laughter, no smiles, barely any conversation. Others are very lively and fun.

I really enjoy spending time with my family (4 adult children, mother and father still married) when we are all together. All we basically do is talk. And it's a group conversation, which I absolutely love and have found to be absent in many of my friends' families. As in, we are having ONE conversation and everyone chimes in when they want. You can sit and listen, or you can be a major participant. It takes all the pressure off that comes with one-on-one conversations. And they are so interesting. Everyone has a different sense of humor or prespective and we will just talk and talk for hours, the conversation changing subject of it's own momentum. Anyone who comes over is also sucked into our conversations. They are full of laughter and interesting stories...sometimes political or religious arguments ensue, but not too often. There is no TV in the house, nothing but the fire to look at other than each other, and that is how I grew up, so it's always been this way. We rarely play games or do anything else but talk, although I wish we did more actual activities because those are fun too. Last Christmas we went bowling together and that was a complete novelty and a lot of fun.

So tell me what it's like with your immediate family! Is it fun, is it interesting, does the time fly by or does it crawl? What do you guys do?
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Replies

  • JustANumber85
    JustANumber85 Posts: 644 Member
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    Its awkward but nice. I mean we get along and everything. Now, my inlaws--- id rather stab my eyes out than be near them.
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
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    OP is fictional, right?
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    What do you mean? It's not fiction. Why, does it seem unbelievable?
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    What makes it awkward??
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
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    What do you mean? It's not fiction. Why, does it seem unbelievable?

    Yes! You're pretty lucky :)
  • Ivey05131980
    Ivey05131980 Posts: 1,118 Member
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    Its awkward but nice. I mean we get along and everything. Now, my inlaws--- id rather stab my eyes out than be near them.

    This.
  • Louisianababy93
    Louisianababy93 Posts: 1,709 Member
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    My mom annoys me.
    My brothers loud.annoying sometimes.. But i guess I'll keep him.
    My sister cracks me up. .She's 13, there's hope for her.
    My step sister, 24, rules. And MY nieces and nephews are precious.
    My two step brothers, they're stoners & they make me laugh!

    My dad, if i knew him, i think I'd punch him in the face.

    Yeah.
  • buffykaz
    buffykaz Posts: 50 Member
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    Yes, I like spending time with my family. My sister and I are close and our husbands get along well, so we often have dinner at each other's house just to hang out, play board games or just shoot the breeze. Along with our parents, we all go away on holidays together too. In fact, I just spent 4 weeks overseas with them.

    I also like my husbands family and have no "in-law" problems, so I'm pretty lucky :smile:
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    What do you mean? It's not fiction. Why, does it seem unbelievable?

    Yes! You're pretty lucky :)

    Thank you! I have definitely come to appreciate it, it seems like other families basically use the TV so they don't really have to talk to each other. And I really hate going to people's houses and having a series of one-on-one conversations that are just stupid repetitive small talk. Ugh.

    But what about you?
  • Hungrygirl88
    Hungrygirl88 Posts: 73
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    Yes, although we do get on each other's nerves from time to time.

    My mom and dad have always been there for me no matter what, closely knitt....

    My younger brother is Mentally Challeneged/slightly Autistic...so Yes, even if we fight...I love him with all my heart. And I hope he loves me that much =P!

    And my Son, I love the evil one!!
  • mlcharb
    mlcharb Posts: 69 Member
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    I LOVE hanging with my family. It's not very often we can ALL get together but when we do we have a blast. It's usually a good time filled with laughs. No lie! I mean, there is tension sometimes as we all have different personalities, but we get over it fast and just enjoy each others company. The great thing is we all realize how great we have it because many families are not like ours (mom/dad/2 sisters/1 brother + spouses and kids!)
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    Do you enjoy spending time with your IMMEDIATE family?

    God no. The strip clubs have buffet and lap dances. Much better deal
  • atxdee
    atxdee Posts: 613 Member
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    you are soooooooooooooooooooooo lucky!! mine talks but not really, and we are def not that close.. I have to beg my mom to come visit me for thanksgiving, my sister doesnt talk to me and my brother is too busy w his own life, his wife has a huge family so they just go over there for thanksgiving..

    So yea.
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
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    No.

    I'm not even on speaking terms with my parents.

    I chat to my brother on facebook occasionally but we don't really spend much time together since we live on opposite sides of the country. And since I refuse to have a relationship with my parents any longer, that means we don't really do "family" events.

    Some people say you can't choose your family. I disagree. My family just don't happen to be related by blood.
  • VogtAndrea
    VogtAndrea Posts: 236
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    I have a wonderful family. Both of my brothers married really lovely women so I could have sisters(in-law or not). My only daughter passed away a couple of years ago leaving a grieving husband and 3 little kids but they're all wonderful too. I don't think I could have handled yukky family.
    There might not be much money or much in the way of assets in my life but sometimes I feel like I've got everything in the world that I could possibly ask for except for my daughter back. Still.... life's pretty good with my family.
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
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    What do you mean? It's not fiction. Why, does it seem unbelievable?

    Yes! You're pretty lucky :)

    Thank you! I have definitely come to appreciate it, it seems like other families basically use the TV so they don't really have to talk to each other. And I really hate going to people's houses and having a series of one-on-one conversations that are just stupid repetitive small talk. Ugh.

    But what about you?

    Oh, no worries around small talk at my Christmas, it's all pretty big. I'll call it 'dynamic'. I like most of my family. Lots of strong personalities (sometimes funny, sometimes stubborn) that all get along, just not usually at the same time and place. We have a minimum of two Christmasses, more if one or another sibling's in a serious relationship. At a restaurant, you'd see us having a good time together, though.
  • Tonnina
    Tonnina Posts: 979 Member
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    With my family yes, they are kind of scattered around the globe (my brother is in the US Army and currently in Germany) so when we get together even if it's on skype or facebook it's fun. We don't really have one big conversation but we do have lots of small happy conversations.
    I love my In-laws and we do have the one big conversation. I love being with my in-laws and they love being with me! (even without my hubby around!)
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
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    Do you enjoy spending time with your IMMEDIATE family?

    Yes and this will be the first year that I can not be with them, but I have my wife and little one and we will have a great Thanksgiving.
  • AggieFan2011
    AggieFan2011 Posts: 551 Member
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    I actually really enjoy spending time with my parents. My Dad and I aren't as close as my Mom and I are, but I think that's just because her and I can talk for hours about random stuff that he does not care about at all; therefore, we typically monopolize the dinner table conversation. :laugh: I love both of them very much though and I really enjoy getting to come home for visits and spend time with them. A lot of times I would rather just go to dinner with them and come home and watch a movie as opposed to going out with people.
    I really like my extended family a lot too though. As a whole we are all very close which is nice, especially around the holidays. Getting together for thanksgiving and christmas isn't something I dread at all; I typically can't wait to see everyone. :smile:

    I know what you mean though about some families seeming to not be close at all. I hear some of my friends talk about how they never want to go home on the weekends and they don't get along with their parents or siblings and it's such a foreign concept to me. I feel incredibly blessed to have such a close and loving family.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    Well lol... MrBigMack and I have 5 kids between us and going to a restaurant is kinda something we only do if we must. They all range from 2-12 years old and so it seems to be quite a commotion... we do enjoy one another though. I'll admit I enjoy my brood more in the comfort of our own home :bigsmile:

    Taking them all to a restaurant always sounds like a good idea... then we do it! :laugh:

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