insidious_machinae

I love my dad. However, my mom and sister are both materialistic, hyperconservative, hypocritical bitches who waste as much money as they can, refuse to do any manual labor (such as picking up after their animals), they bitch about how they always have to work sooooooo hard, but whenever I'm with them, they lay around on the couch while I'm ordered to do all this work in a house I've only spent a handful of nights in.

My mom and sister have both developed extremely hateful stances toward LPM, and even more so to our relationship. And the exasperating fact about it, is that we have never done anything to wrong them. LPM is a total sweetheart. She is always kind, polite, and very outgoing around my family, and still they're total assholes to her.

My family has developed this sense of superiority where it's literally a male Cinderella complex. I get stepped on whenever I try to bring up my point of view, tuned out when I want to talk about my day, and generally can't get a word in edgewise. I literally had my mother SCOFF at my major and line of work (computer programming) this past weekend, and I said to her face that it was childish, and that it chapped my ass that she couldn't just be happy for me for ONCE in my life.

My extended family, such as my cousins on my dad's side, are really cool. I love all my grandparents, although both my grandparents on my mother's side died when I was younger. My dad's parents are still alive and I make regular drives to go see them and spend time talking with my granddad about books and technology.

Of the extended family on my mom's side (other than my grandparents), I have only met a few people. Most of them are heavy drug-abusers and alcoholics, and all of them live in Oklahoma, whereas we are in California. The extended family on my dad's side are all generally a lot older than me, although I've met all of them, and they're really wholesome people.

c172g

I don't base my liking someone on anything, including whether they are family or not. Everybody starts out on my good side, you have to work your way across the line. Yes, people in my family have done just that.

My dad & I got along fairly well, he built a business while I was young so we didn't spend a lot of time together, but I respected him & really do appreciate everything he did for me. Now that he's gone, I'm glad I actually took the time while he was alive to tell him that. My mom is a saint of saints, a great person and I've yet to meet better.

My brother, sister and I all work together. This makes for an interesting family life. I get along pretty good with one and not at all with the other.

My in-laws are about the same story, some I like, others I do not. I don't make any false pretenses around anyone. I don't go out of my way to call anyone an idiot, but I also know who I should keep my distance from to make sure that doesn't happen.

My wife & kids? The best. Couldn't love any of them any more than what I do (although that seems to grow stronger every day).

Families are all strange, you can't pick them unfortunately.

greeneyes

I like my family a whole lot more now that I live seven hours away from them.

__________________
Put the blame on me
So you don't feel a thing

Go on and save yourself
Take it out on me

Sweetpea

I would like to make a comment if i may, i also think LPM is a lovely person, the sheer reason they may take issue with her and your relationship with her is because they both are super JEALOUS that you seem to have found such pure happiness. There are those people out there who are so miserble themselves, that they cannot stand to see someone else be happy or in love. It's only a testiment to what a great girl you've got in LPM that she can be kind to them even though they are treating her in such a way.

This sounds really similar to my husband's situation when he was younger, all his family brought into his life was drama and pain, he's pretty much cut them out of his life and has been alot happier since he did that 4 years ago. He's moved on from all that pain they brought him and we've created a happy, stable life together with only love and kindess in it, because MY family adores him!

Even though these people are your family, if they aren't bringing anything positive to your life or your fiancee's life, don't think twice about getting some real space from them for an extended period of time, sometimes it's healthy to distance yourself from such situations.

We don't get to pick our familes, sometimes we just get stuck with them and it's so difficult.

Sweetpea

__________________
Having a Pet Will Change Your Life!
Looking for a great pet?! Click Here!
"I am the Type of Person Who Can Get Away With A lot, Simply Because I Don't Ask Permission for the Privilege of Being Myself"

Zeraph

Some I like, some I don't. I am 20 years old, and to the people who say "wait till youre 25/older" I doubt that will change anything. The reason I don't like them is not because of how we treat each other, but more about how they treat other people. For example, if one of youre family member's is extremely racist, well I don't think waiting another 5 years will change your opinion of them.

darkangel

My immediate family is pretty good. My parents are great because we're more friends than parent-daughter relationship. Me and my dad are so alike, so I would definately hang out with him. My older brother, I probably wouldn't. He would be the materialistic, popular person in High School that a school geek wouldn't have wanted any association with. We get along, but I couldn't see us even looking or talking to eachother if we weren't blood related. My younger brother is just like me too. He's in grade 8, yet we play music together (bass/guitar), like the same movies, music, and we go places together. He grew out of the 'annoying younger brother stage' thank god. My older sister.. changed. Me and her used to be close when she lived her, but she moved to MD years ago, and now has a family. I don't think *now* we could be friends. I realize now just how different we are. My extended family is very very small, and I get along with them, but we are nothing alike.

So it's just me, my parents, and my younger brother. That's all I really need too.

__________________
"I'm gonna die when it's time for me to die.. so let me live my life the way I want to." - Jimi Hendrix

little_tippler

I think that what happens when you get past a certain age (say early 20's), you realise that maybe your parents aren't "perfect". They're just people. And then you start to think, would I be friends with them, and of course, do I actually like them? I think I can say, most of my family, I love. As in family love. But I don't like all of my family. Some of them I just get on with because they are family. Others I think are nice people and I like. And others are my friends. It's no big deal, you don't have to like them just because they're family. Generally I think I've been fortunate with mine. On the other hand I have 2 half-brothers (from my dad) who I hate, but they are not what I consider family AT ALL. As I usually, say, they are their mothers' sons. (In portuguese, the funny thing is, this translates as filho-da-mãe, which is actually almost like calling them SOB's lol).

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

Strange Famous

I dont love any of my family, but I like my sister I guess, Im not close to her and dont feel very connected to her, but she's quite a nice person. I have a painful relationship with my mother and an ackward one with my father... I talk to him every other week, and we get on far better than when I was a child - I dont think I will ever forgive some things he did, but I can understand quite a lot about the place he was in - I dont think he is that bad of a person inside, and he has changed... but he wasnt that great a father growing up. And my mother occasionally... she has been quite ill the last 5 years (almost died a couple of times - by which I mean been resusitated in hospital when her heart stopped beating) and I try to, you know, make an effort - but its hard to spend that much time around her.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

snowy

I do like my family. I really enjoy the company of my mother, brother and father. However, my mother and brother are a little emotionally unstable and so sometimes it makes it hard to enjoy their company as much as I'd like to. My mother has had a lot of health problems lately (turns out it's all epilepsy related) but now that she's on medication for it she's evening out. My brother is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He can be very pleasant and friendly and fun and then turn around and be absolutely nasty. That element of his personality is what I dislike most. My dad, on the other hand, is just awesome. He's a 100% solid guy.

I also like the rest of my family--my aunts, uncles and cousins. Some I like more than others--I have a couple of aunts that I never want to see again. My first cousins on my father's side are all pretty cool and my father's brother (their father) is downright awesome. He and I get along really well and I always look forward to seeing him--he and my cousin came down to see me here at Oregon State last spring and we had a great time.

As far as my other cousins, great aunts and uncles go--they're all very cool too. I've got a whole branch of family in the Netherlands that are downright awesome but I don't see them enough. C'est la vie.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

cierah

I've been thinking about this a little more and have decided that I actually like one of my sisters. She's almost graduating and therefore we have the same sorta stuff to worry about and therefore to talk about which has never happened with our age difference before. We are fundamentally the same type of people, I think.
I've decided that I also like my dad, although he is chicken-shit.

liquidlight

I'm the 3rd oldest of 10 biological siblings, I have 19 siblings if you count all the steps and halfs, and the only thing I can say about my family is holy shit I'm sorry if you have to put up with any of them. Both of my parents are at least partially insane (completely in my fathers case) and it's passed a lot of very destructive and selfish behaviors along to all of the kids. I'm not currently on speaking terms with any member of my immediate family, and while some would argue that I'm as much to fault as they are, I would agree and stand my position. I hate the accepted misconception that your family is good to you simply because they're your family, mine seems to make a point of abusing those they should care about. So no, I don't like my family, and come to think of it, I don't know anybody else that does either.

__________________
Halfway to hell and picking up speed.

Gilda

The family I was born into, no. I love them all, but they've chosen to disown me and my sister because we don't fit into their narrowly defined sexual roles, so with the exception of Sissy, no I don't like them, and I wish there were some way I could stop loving them because sometimes the conflict feels as if it's going to tear me apart.

On the other hand, the family I've made with Sissy and Grace (my SO) and the way her family has taken us in as welcome membrs has given me a nuclear family and an extended family that I can openly embrace and am proud to be a part of.

streak_56

I get along well enough with my family that I don't have to worry about them for half the year. I stick close to those who I am related to directly. As for my step-family, I could really care less. Though I would (with almost all of them) defend them over any stranger. They are important to me, but there is still some resentment towards some based on the divorce of my real parents and what has gone on there after.

yellowchef

My family isnt bad. My parents are like the Camdens from 7th Heaven in the sense that they will take in my poor deprived friends and guide them. My friend Julian is a prime example. Hes in the military, he has no family nearby and he doesnt have good relationships with his mom or dad. Well when we first met I felt SO bad that he was eating ucky chow hall food (no wonder our military is fat, the food they are fed is worse than that in some school disticts) that I MADE him come eat a decent meal with my family, and my mom found out about his parents somehow... I think he told her and now he eats there damn near every night! Hes also a real good kid and after about the 3rd time I made him come eat he just started doing the dishes as I was clearing the table. My mom tried to stop him and seriously he told her "NO" and my moms pretty scary when she puts her foot down. (I live in fear of pissing off my mom and it takes a lot, but Ive seen it happen) Now she just thinks its great that she doesnt have to do them. My mother being the little Christian that she is(THANKFULLY shes OPEN MINDED and I get no shit from her other than some nagging about my piercings and tattoos and political beliefs) invited him to church the last time I was home.. now he goes every week with them(what a good little boy. why cant I have him as my bf? damn you school!!) My siblings are alright, we all get along and love one another. We're pretty close too. Even though we live so far away from one another we keep in good contact. My older brother is getting married in a couple weeks yay!

My outer family is pretty cool, well my Uncle on my Moms side is a little weird, and his wife and step daughter are a bit pretentious and bitchy.. but we accept them. I love my Uncle and I accept his family. My Dads family is alright.. a few of my cousins are misguided and have made horrible choices and have hurt many of us in the family, but theyre not evil. Theyve just made poor life choices and we cant do anything but support them in making steps in the right direction. All around my family isnt too bad. A little weird, and they put the FUN in dysfunctional, but I love them all. Most of them I would befriend in real life too.

cierah

Now, I have to ask. If spending time with your family is generally so painful for you why do you continue to do it? Wouldn't it be better to simply cut all the ties and call yourself free?

abaya

Story about Cierah's question: I was the maid of honor in a wedding where the bride's parents were "cut off" from attending. This was because the parents disliked her choice in men so much (for no good reason; the guy was one of my close friends and was by no means someone you'd expect parents to dislike) that they refused his request to have her hand in marriage. He was trying to respect them by asking them directly, but they said no, and from that point on the bride basically divorced herself from them. She disinvited them from the wedding, and when they turned her two sisters on her to persuade her otherwise, she disinvited them as well.

Now, she didn't enjoy doing any of this, but she was convinced that it was the only way to be true to herself and be happy, in the end. Personally, as I watched this all go down, I felt very uncomfortable... maybe because my mother's side is Asian and therefore no one would EVER do something like that and disown their family, no matter how much we disliked each other. There is just too much obligation and reciprocity among us... they took care of me, I should grow up and do the same.

At the time I thought that if I was in that situation, my SO and I would do whatever possible to amend relations with all involved BEFORE getting married, just so as to have peace on that day and to start off on a good foot. If that meant delaying the wedding a while, fine. Why start off life together with such painfully burned bridges?

But that's just me. For my friend, she was willing to sacrifice her entire family to get what she really wanted. Maybe in some weird way that's impressive. How many of us would be "brave" (?) enough to do that? I don't know. What are they going to do when they have kids, I wonder...

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Gilda

Having had all ties to my birth family cut off, I can tell you that from my perspective, it doesn't make me feel free. I in essense did the same thing as the friend in abaya's story. When forced to choose between my SO, Grace, and my family, I chose to stay with Grace and was cut off.

Having been cut off doesn't end the relationship I had with those people for the first 25 years of my life, and their absense leaves a hole that nobody else will ever be able to adequately fill. For the first 22 years of my life, those people were nearly my whole world, and I still love them. Cutting off all ties, to me, doesn't feel like freedom. Those relationships still exist, broken though they may be, and pretending that they don't doesn't help.

Like abaya mother's side, Grace's family is of Asian descent, and I can't imagine her being distant from them due to her having chosen the wrong partner. They have no problem with my being the "wrong" person for her. Regardless of whether I'm the type of person they would have chosen, I'm the person Grace chose, so, by golly, that means I'm part of their family. Like someone said earlier, they're like a tv family, ready and willing to take in strays from other families and treat them like they're at home.

muttonglutton

Hmm.

I loved my mother, we got along really well. She died when I was ten, and I went to live with my dad. I don't think he ever learned how to be a parent, and I was a hyper active kid. Obviously, problems developed, and weren't solved until I moved out at sixteen. Now, five years later, it seems we've patched everything up. We're pretty chummy, but I don't think it would be right to say that we have a father-son relationship. We have few shared interests, and he's pretty much realized that I'm in control of my own life, and that we're both happier if he lets me live it.

My step-mother is evil.

I don't think I would normally be friends with anyone in my extended family. I'm a geek, they're all rednecks or ginos. A couple of my cousins are really cool people but again, I doubt I'd do much more than say hi and bye if we weren't family. Weird, that.

__________________
Cellar Door.

pinkie

I only consider my sister, and the family I've made my real family.

The rest of my family members are all crazy, vindictive, selfish and abusive and I have nothing to do with any of them. All my grandparents are gone, and my father has been gone since 1984. He was an abusive monster while he was alive. His brother has done nothing but basically disown my sister and I ever since he died. Our mother is an alcoholic, pill popping narcissistic untreated BPD sufferer, who will probably stay in deep denial ‘til the day she dies, all the while using Christian immunity for her excuse to never take responsibility for herself, or her daily unhealthy choices.

Gilda

Wow, pinkie that first line captures my situation exactly, and much of the rest of your post is very familiar, except in my case it was my uncle who was the abusive monster, and it's my parents who've disowned me and my sister. Sometimes I read things like this, and I wonder if having a messed up family is more the norm than the exception.

muttonglutton

It is, it really is. I'm 21, and far too many of my friends live in (or out of) dysfuctional families. Some sort of abuse, or genuine craziness, or neglect, It's not one family in a hundered, its ten in twenty.

It's kind of depressing, really...

__________________
Cellar Door.

HAL3000

HAHA - LIKE? my family?

A lot of days. NO. But I love them... they're my family. We get each other... dysfuntionality and all. I think it's that age old, you can pick your friends, but not your family. Yet, they still are family, stuck with 'em forever like it or not .

pinkie

Thankfully I've surrounded my life with people who are nothing like the family I grew up with. God bless us who choose to break the chain of dysfunction!!

pinkie

You may not be able to pick who your blood relatives are, but you sure can choose not to put up with them!

questone

I respect and love and just plain LIKE my family.

ranger

my familiy is huge so it divides up like this

1/8 i love
1/4 i don't even know
1/4 i hate
1/4 whose money is accepted without thoughts to return with a F*** You
and
1/8 that are socially acceptable and leave me alone

__________________
there are three ways to do things: the right way, the wrong way, and my way, which is the wrong way faster.

ophelia783

Do I love my family? YES
Do I like them all? NOOOOOOOOOOO
My dad was abusive, my mom's a compulsive gambler, and my sister's addicted to narcotics. Needless to say, my family's a little unbalanced - no wonder I don't remember anything before I was 12.

Yes, it's easy to write it off as dependancy issues, but it goes deeper than that. My sister and I became super-close, which turned out to be due to the amount of drugs she was taking (she'd always been a monstrously-huge bitch). My father was emotionally, verbally and mentally abusive, and was never around (I used to think he lived in the shower-drain) and my mom was enourmously co-dependant.

I love them all dearly, but I don't like them, whether it's for what they're doing/have done to themselves, or for what they're doing/have done to me, and I don't think that's something I'm going to ever "grow out of".

__________________
~*~* He with a sharp tongue slits his own throat *~*~

Jeff

I like them all, I love them all. We all get along, and family gathering are usually a ridiculously good time.

Never any bad blood, just a ton of laughs. I'm lucky I guess.

__________________
For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command or faith a dictum. I am my own God. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.
--Charles Bukowski

cellophanedeity

I love my family, and we get along really well for the most part.

My little brother's a bit of an ass, but he and I get along when we're both in a good mood, which is more often now that I'm not home as much and he's in highschool.

My mum and I get along very well. We go shopping, watch movies, talk, tell stories, comfort... all of those things that mums and daughters are supposedly "supposed" to do. Mind you, we don't always get along, but no one gets along with everyone all the time, right?

My Dad is the best dad ever. At least, I think so We go see Dave Matthews Band together every time they come to Toronto. I can talk to him about everything from music to work to sex-type-things. He works shifts, so I don't see him as much as I'd like, but when we do get together we can't shut up!

So yah, I like my family, but I love them more.

Meditrina

My family is very small. Just me and my sister and our parents. They all live far away from me, and I like it that way. I do not hate them, but probably would if they lived close to me. My parents were never there for me emotionally when I was growing up, they always expected me to be like my sister, and always had something negative to say. Nothing has changed, and I am almost 36. My sister was always there for me, but lately she is hard to talk to, so I just listen. My inlaw's on the other hand.... Well, my mother-in-law babysits for me 3 full days a week, helps around my house, has become more of a friend than I could ever imagine, and I love her tremendously. She has the biggest heart, listens to me when I talk, even when about her son. She understands me. The rest of my husbands family is just as nice, they have open hearts, open minds, and opened their homes to us when we needed. I truly feel blessed with his side of the family.

__________________
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." ~Alex Karras

william

I guess I have been blessed w/my family. I read some of these postings, and I wonder - WTF? Now, I'm talking about my immediate family (Mom, Dad and Bro). Don't really know much of the extended family. But I'll tell you - I guess my family was the exception. My father was paralyzed at age 38 in 1968, stopping a hold-up at a 7-11. Four days before my 4th birthday. He was on what they now call the "fast track" w/FL Pwr as a foreman for land surveyors. Money earning days are over. My mother could have left, but she stood by his side. She went to work. Growing up, I knew of the physical differences between him and other dads, but he did his best to do what he could. He grew up playing football in HS and college (Missouri). Hated baseball. But, not being able to afford the football fees for me, he accepted baseball because it was what I wanted to play. He taught me a lot of basics around the house (plumbing, electrical, etc.). His father, my grandfather, taught me to ride a bicycle. His only regret was not taking me hunting, and I don't hold it against him. He took me fishing. I didn't really think of our family being much different than any others (besides learning how to cook at an early age), until later. My parents did everything they could to make life "normal" for me and my brother. Faced w/such a hardship, my parents showed me about perserverance. Sometimes you only think you have it rough.

anti fishstick

I don't really like my family. But it's more so my step dad that I hate. He's not a respectable person. Doesn't respect women, so why should I respect him even when my mom tells me I need to "respect my elders". As for my mom, I like her more, but this house just has so much bad memories for me that I don't really like my family as a whole. My mom gambles, criticizes me, compares me, and not to mention, steals my money. So I can't wait to move out.

I'm a bit jealous of my boyfriend's family. They seem to be much closer knit and he seems to come from such a supportive family. But I'm also gracious that they accept me, almost as If I were part of the family! I'm very glad to know them.

__________________
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin

Caranthir

This is going to be one of those posts where I need to vent my true feelings, so watch out.

My parents are some of the sweetest people you'll ever meet, few people have ever matched up to them. Despite our wide assortment of religious beliefs (Dad catholic, mother congregational, sister a unitarian and myself semi-christian/non-religious)we still get along quite well most of the time.

My father will always try to help me out with anything, whether with cars, college or computers. Most of the time I will decline, sadly enough I have a much harder time showing my emotions than my father does and I have a stubborn belief that I can do everything myself. This probably extends from my anti-social childhood, but occasionally I will be reminded to accept my family's assistance (like this thread). In the end We really do love each other, its just that, I think, both of us are too scared to share our beliefs, which always has been a major hurdle in our relationship.

I have gotten along with my mother most of the time and we've shared great stories time and time again. Sometimes she won't be able to remember something that I told her the day before but I can quickly get over that. She's the type of person that will try to help you succeed. If you're looking for a new job, she'll look through the flyers and try to find you one. If you're going on a trip, she'll try to make sure you have everything and maybe help fund it. Truely a caring person. A lot of the time I feel that I don't do nearly enough for my parents in return.

Then there's my sister. She's just like me in the sense that she's very shy about her private life and believes that she can do everything herself. Sometimes we'll share an occasional laugh, but a lot of the time is spent by arguing. She being a materialist and I being mostly an intellectualist/spiritualist, the two cultures really do not mix. Most of the time she's out of the house socializing with her friends, while I'm online, working or reading a book. I guess I'm jealous in some sense that she has more friends than I do. However, she also has some of the worst manners in the family which has always ticked me off ever since she was little (chewing with her mouth open, not picking up after herself, etc). Sometimes I think the world revolves around her. Same could be said of me too though.

As for my extended family, it varies. I definitely get along more with my mother's side of the family than my father's, they are happier, caring and tend to have little cousins that will eat your brains out. Seriously, everytime I would visit my uncle's home, about 5 kids will run over to me saying my name and jump all over me. "Nick, let's play with this trainset," or "Nick, build this robot with me," or "Nick, lets play PS2," etc. I love them all dearly as I can see a part of me in all of them. My mother's oldest brother I can relate to, but we mostly talk about how are lives are going. Sometimes we'll play sports like darts although I was never that big into sports. My aunt I love as well, mainly for the food they always offer me.

Ok, this getting too long and it's already more like a post in a journal. I can't help myself. Must finish.

My father's side I have mixed feelings for. Some parts of the family are a little dysfunctional, some parts not. My father's sister long ago got into a huge argument with my paternal grandmother (now deceased) and she was blacklisted from the family. Other than that there are some minor things. My paternal grandfather is a very kind and extremely loving individual, however his beliefs are a little on the strange side and has recently moved in with another household and considers them a part of the family. I'm not sure whether I'm happy or sad...

My father's brother I can totally relate to, but the rest of his family I can't really get along with. My relationship with my aunt is almost non-existant, and her two daughters I don't get along with too well especially the youngest who, like my sister, is bossy and materialistic and thinks she controls everything, much like her mother. Sometimes she'll have a nice side though.

Ok that's enough for tonight. I'm a really loving person but I don't show my feelings very often, but when they do you get a post like this.

__________________
I.

OPgary

[B]I was the youngest in the whole extended family. Was never particularly close to either parent, but I guess closer to my dad. Mother and I argued a lot. Looking back she did the best she could with what she had. Still, when she passed away I wasnt really that sad. Of course she had been in a nursing facility for seven years.

Borgs

Absolutley, I love my family completley. I consider myself blessed because of this, as many people are not so fortunate.

Suave

I like every single person on my mom's side of the family. The ones that I know from my dad's side are really cool too. Immediate family is great too. Everyone has their flaws, but I think when you know someone for long enough (even if it's forced through blood or circumstance), you gain the ability to see what you like or love in them. If I hadn't gained that with my immediate family members, I'd be stuck wondering what the point of all of those big fights we had was. I have a great family.

__________________
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

feelgood

Hate my family.

My Dad can be a real asshole sometime when he's drunk and is unable to make a clear descision because of his dumb bitch he calls a wife influncing him all the time.

My step-mother is one of the biggest bitch I ever known. She constantly bitches about everything I do. She has little control, if any, over her moronic kids.

My step-brother is one of the laziest son of a bitch I ever known. He's only 14 but he still could do alot more. He couldn't do one simple thing right, hell, I remember one time my Dad asked him to move bags of potato onto the Deck. He put it in the garage.

My step-sister is probably next to the biggest bitch. My brother (streak_56) can testify that she can't even walk around the house without getting pissed off at either one of us.

My Mom destroyed the family. Granted, she can go around loving somebody other than my Dad but that doesn't mean she could do it while hurting the rest of my family.

My grandmother can be a little full of shit.

My aunt left her husband, that's cool. It would be nice if she could get a boyfriend that's actually nice. It would be even nicer if she would stop hitting on me whenever she gets drunk.

Most of my cousins are idiots. They often patronize each other, my brother and sister and myself.

Hell, when I was younger, I often thought that my brother and sister are the biggest idiot in the world but now, I've come to find that they're pretty good compared to the rest of the family.

__________________
Looking out the window, that's an act of war. Staring at my shoes, that's an act of war. Committing an act of war? Oh you better believe that's an act of war

raeanna74

I guess I'd say I like my family. I TOTALLY respect my grandpa and found my grandma very honorable when she was alive. My parents are good people who enjoy helping others and are very loving. My mother is co-dependant, my dad went through a long time where he was suicidal and has been emotionally and mentally unstable most of my teen years. He has since gotten a much better handle on reality and I relate to him well. My brother has a violent history but after only once fighting with me he has learned to respect me and doesn't cross that line now. I guess you could say it's a tense affection for my family. I'm fairly close I guess despite their problems. I am on the guard against their turns in emotion that can be volatile, depressing, or intrusive. I doubt anyone can claim perfect parents. Mine have enough redeeming qualities to be likeable. My husband nearly avoided the alter with me because he discovered what my family was like. He has since developed a tentative repore with my family.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

Lead543

I like some of my family.

My oldest brother is like a father to me. I plan on having him give me away at my wedding. I like him.

My second oldest brother is sick and disgusting. I plan on having nothing to do with him EVER regardless of what my mom wants. I hate him, and no, hate isn't a strong enough word.

My Dad and I are alike in a lot of ways. He's done bad things in the past and I was basically brainwashed to believe he was a monster. Now that I'm older we get along quite well and I look forward to his visits. I like him.

I'm not that close to my extended family except for an aunt, uncle and two cousins, the rest of the family is either dead or has been cut off. I like them.

My Mom. Hmmmm. I think her and i will get along better once I move away. Right now she is EXTREMELY critical of me. She can be downright mean somedays and has gotten worse since streak_56 and I have started dating. I think she's jealous that I have someone to love and support me and to go out and do things with. I've watched her grow into a bitter and resentful woman. I hope to one day get along better with her but if she continues this way I don't think it'll be possible. I don't know about her.

cierah

Right now I fucking hate my family. That is all. I really don't understand why I keep giving them so much power over me - the power to make me feel bad. I don't understand why I keep doing this to myself.

__________________
"You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories" -Stainslaw J. Lec