I'm just curious... Do you guys have good relationships with your parents and family? Also, Parent...do you have good, open relationships with your kids?
I have a good relationship with my family, all things considered. Definetly closer to my Dad, some how we just understand each other better. Which is werid because I have more common with my Mum. My younger brother and I have always been close, a few spats of course, and some major diffrences. But he's a sweetheart whom I have always loved, protected and 'educated'. We have a pretty open relationship, but I'm a private person so most of the time it doesn't even occure to me to tell them stuff. My parents have an infuriating habit that, with regards every choice I make, their first comment is negative (e.g going vegetarian = you don't like vegetables, changing my name = we'll never get used to it). Would it kill them just for once to say 'That's great'? Eventually they get used to it though and are suppourtive enough. Am reasonably fond of my Grandparents, and see them fairly often. But the rest of them, err yeah. We don't even speak, but I don't take it personally. It's personality clashes and/or fall outs with my parents. We aren't a close family.
That's cool... I guess I should answer my own questions... So anyway, when I was growing up, I didn't really have a good relationhip with my dad - then my parents got divorced and now I stay with him while I'm in school. So we have a better relationship now, do a lot of stuff together - a lot of outdoors stuff, etc. My mom, I tak to her whenever I get a chance. I don't really see eye-to-eye on a lot of things with my parents. My family is pretty conservative - then there's me. I met some really cool and open-minded people in highschool, then I decided I just couldn't be a follower anymore. I had to be a learder. I think that kind of freaked people out at first, but now everyone is slowly excepting I am my own person. So I think (hope) everyone is beginning to respect that. Well, except my stepdad...lol...I'm not too sure of him sometimes. I don't see much of my other family, they all live out of state...I just live around my imediate family.
I'm not very close to my parents, more hate them in fact, because they can't separate themselves from their own problems for my brother and I which puts alot of unnecessary stress on us. Both of my parents grew up pretty much without a dad. My dad doesn't know who his father was and his brothers (twins) and sister each have a different father as well. My mom's dad was a workaholic and now he's a great grandfather, but my mom is still resentful of him and still has lots of issues with men that she kind of transfers down to me and my relationships. My parents also put a ton of pressure on my brother and I. I'm expected to get all A's, go to Harvard, be a lawyer, and make 200K a year. My brother is expected to be the best baseball player to ever live. Neither of us are really allowed to go out because we always have to be either studying or practicing. They also see no problem calling my brother and me names like bitch and bastard when they are the slightest bit upset with us. Like when my mom is in a bad mood and calls for me and I don't RUN downstairs, she starts screaming and calling me a fat bitch. So yeah... not a good relationship at all and when I go 1000 miles away to college, I'll never be coming back. My brother and I are as close as a 15 year old brother and a 17 year old sister can be. He can be pretty immature though. He's a pretty decent guy though and we've always planned that one day when we're both rich and lawyers, we'll live next to each other so when I'm mad at my kids, they can go to his house and when he's mad at his kids, they can come to my house. That's our grand plan. He also wants to be a lawyer and wants to go into practice with me, although we both want to do totally different aspects of law. The rest of my family is ok for the most part. I'm closest with my mom's two cousins Estie and Cheryl... Estie is married with two of the most adorable kids I've ever seen, and Cheryl is 40 and lives in Boston and is a pretty hardcore hippie. All my 1st cousins are dimwits because their parents are even more messed up than mine. My 14 year old cousin brags to me about how drunk she gets on the weekend and my 18 year old cousin is all excited that he didn't fail a single class for once his senior year. My grandparents are all pretty cool, with the exception of my dad's mom- she smokes with no care that we ask her to stop around us. My mom's parents divorced and remarried and I get along very well with my step-families from that. When my yia-yia (Grandmother in Greek... my Grandpa's wife) died, her whole family knew all about me at her funeral and came to hug me and give me stuff because I was bawling my eyes out. My step families on both sides are pretty awesome. I guess having such crappy parents kind of taught me what NOT to do when I have kids because personalitywise- I'm more like my parents than I would like to admit.
I have a wonderful relationship with my Mother. She would never refuse to tell me when she thought I was making a mistake but she always let me make my own decisions. Sometimes she was right and sometimes she was wrong but the decisions were always mine to make. Not to mention she introduced me to the Beatles, the Dead, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Arlo Guthrie, John Denver... My old man is an asshole but I love him anyway. I understand he's an ass and I know what to expect from him. Im not bitter because he was to immature to be a decent father or a faithful husband. He knows he screwed up and thats enough for me. LOL. I guess that kinda explains the USNavyDeadHead thing. My old man was in the Army for 24 years and I guess there were things about that I admired. Mom was a total hippie... how they got together I have no freakin clue. I even have a good relationship with my in-laws. Yeah, my father in law and I had a physical dispute once upon a time but now things are fantastic. As for my relationship with my son we'll have to wait and see. He turns four next month and being a sailor I dont get to spend as much time with him as I would like. But when I am home he stays glued to my hip and we have a great time together. I am going to use my Mom's approach to parenting and hope for the best I suppose. The only thing I am going to do different is to be more honest about life with him. I want to be able to have conversations with him about life and I want him to be able to be honest with me without fear that I'll fly off the handle and scream and yell. I want to be a provider and a guide, not a judge and jury.
wow, my married daughter is my best friend!! I think I have a pretty great relationship with all of my 7 kids. I even get along smashingly with my son-in-law and my daughter-in law! I think the key is honesty, openess, spending time together doing the things you love, unconditional love, and remembering that love really does cover a mulitude of sins.
I am extremely close to most of my family, as well as in-laws. My mother is one of my best friends! My kids? I have a 5 year old and also 2 year old twins. I love those kids something fierce, and I hope that as they get older, we continue to have a very close bond to one another.
No one understands me and wishes for me to change. Mother, father, grandparents. My aunts and uncles just 'live' with me and have a don't ask, don't tell policy goin on. along with most of my cousins. Then again, no one really understands me for me, in and outside of my family. Namaste Francine
I guess Im lucky at this point in my life. My mom and I use to fight like crazies about to kill one another. I havent lived at home for 4 years or so and I know that helps. I live down the street from my parents now. I have a relaly good relationshitp I'd say with my mom now. But things are a lot dofferent now that I have my own family....husband and child and home etc. My husbands parents don't live far eather...his parents are devorced but we still have close relationship with everyone. I'd say we have a prety good family all around.Lots of support if we need it and places to turn to for help and of corse a lot of help in the babysitting department from them all (grandparents). I have one child I'd say we have a blast of a relationship...I love my kid. I'd say he loves me too cuz he can't type yet but he told me thismorning so hehe. That always makes me happy.
