I hate Thanksgiving family reunions. Maybe you do too. I will list three reasons I hate Thanksgiving family reunions and how to get out of them.
The drama of Thanksgiving family reunions
The first reason I hate Thanksgiving family reunions is because of the drama. They are an endless soap opera that beats anything on television.
Aunt Betsy isn’t talking to Aunt Rita, and they tell everyone else what to say to them. For example, Aunt Betsy says, “Jimmy, please tell Aunt Rita to pass the biscuits to the rest of us.”
I wonder what would happen, if little Jimmy would say, “Aunt Betsy, why don’t you tell Aunt Rita yourself?”
I suspect those two “adult” aunts know I would tell them something on that order because they don’t ask me to communicate messages for them.
God would want them to resolve their differences instead of dragging the extended family into them.
The sarcastic drunk at Thanksgiving family reunions
The second reason I hate Thanksgiving family reunions is Uncle George, the sarcastic drunk, will be there.
He will either arrive drunk or toast for any flimsy reason until he is drunk. Then he will pour out his anger on the innocent and make one biting remark after another. He will also use foul language.
He will make endless excuses why the whole world is wrong, and he is the only one who is right.
Sadly, Uncle George has never faced the real reason he is angry and how that person’s behavior affected him.
Instead, he attempts to bury his pain with alcohol, and the hurt never goes away.
Uncle George wonders why most of the family members don’t invite him to their homes. Whatever happened to love and respect for others?
Grandma feels sorry for him and tolerates his drunken behavior. She mistakenly thinks peace at any price is peace.
Rather than make him leave, she sits and cries. She acts as if she has no power in her own home.
I’ve told Grandma, “You’re welcome in my home anytime, but I will not go there and subject myself and my family to him. I prefer the peace and quiet of my own home.”
The pressure to eat more at Thanksgiving family reunions
The third reason I hate Thanksgiving family reunions is the pressure to eat more at them. Family members take their specialty dish, and their feelings are hurt if I don’t eat “just one more serving.”
I understand they don’t want to take home a huge serving of their specialty dish, especially if they made double and already have more at home.
However, I’m lactose-intolerant, gluten-free, and cannot digest salty or acidic foods, red meat, pork, and fried foods. Unless I want to get sick, I cannot eat one serving of some foods, much less “just one more.”
What options do I have? I can eat before I go, or take substitute foods for what will be on the menu.
I can also make other plans, such as prepare my own meal at home, watch the holiday Hallmark movies, and play board games with my own family or members of my church family.
These are the three reasons I hate Thanksgiving Family Reunions and share how to get out of them. I choose to spend Thanksgiving Day in peace and quiet and thank God for a choice in the matter.
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Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega November 20, 2018 Updated December 2, 2018
