Family Relationships

Articles on Family | Topics: family, families, familial

by Anthony Kidd

I don’t know what happened, but many of the family relationships that I used to rely on seem to be strained or non-existent. It’s nothing I have done, but it is something going on with the older generation in my family. My grandparents are baffled at the interaction between their children, and they don’t understand why they go so long without speaking to each other. This is especially sad since they literally live next door to each other. I hope it’s not genetic, because I really love my brothers. Perhaps when we get older we’ll be bitter and petty too.

My mom has two sisters and one brother. She lives next door to her youngest sister, and next to her is their brother. The other sister lives a mile away, and seems to be more agreeable. Perhaps it is best for family relationships if people are not right next to each other, I don’t really know. What I do know is that they barely speak, and they always seem to have some really good reason for why this is. Of course, their really good reason sounds like a bunch of petty bickering to me, and I just want to stay out of it.

Historical Quote

The politics of the family are the politics of a nation. Just as the authoritarian family is the authoritarian state in microcosm, the democratic family is the best training ground for life in a democracy.

—Letty Cottin Pogrebin (20th century)

I enjoy my aunts and uncles just fine, but I can’t stand to be around them when family relationships are strained. Christmas was horrible, as there seemed to be some nasty double meaning to everything anyone said, if you could get them in the same room at all. I don’t know what happened. I used to love my family and all of the people in it. I still love them, but I do not like how they handle their family relationships. It’s absurd to me that they would fight over one tiny thing for years as if it were the end of the world.

Now, I just avoid most family functions. I have noticed that my grandparents do this too. They don’t want any part of the bickering either. They just go see everyone individually, and that has become my custom as well. It’s really sad when the ‘kids’ of the family seem to know more about family relationships than the people that supposedly showed them what family relationships are all about. Perhaps they will mellow in old age, but for some reason, I can’t see it happening. Until then, it’s just not worth the aggravation to even try.

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