Post by mrs.spunky on Sept 19, 2012 8:35:47 GMT -5
There is drama on both sides of my family. For instance, all 5 of my dad's living siblings are suing my mother in her role as executrix of my dad's brother's estate. Most of my mom's family gets along on the surface, but there is a lot of talking behind people's backs. DH's family is not drama-free, they just ignore their issues.
Post by badtzmaru22 on Sept 19, 2012 8:43:08 GMT -5
My family is fine. I do have a few nutty cousins, but they are all very nice and mostly just need to keep their pants on.
DH's family is all kinds of crazy. His mom is regularly at war with one of her three kids. She is currently not speaking to his older sister. They all gossip and backstab, and you can't trust any of them. His cousins are all very nice and normal though.
Minimal drama, but it's there. My mother is one of 4 girls so there's always cattiness involved. Two of her (thrice divorced) sisters keep going after sets of brothers, so that's entertaining. My cousins are spoiled and self centered but not trainwrecky. We're a good WASPy family where nasty feelings get aired behind their back, not to their face.
SO's family is completely another story. SO has 3 siblings all by different fathers, his mother is a touch unstable and borderline animal hoarder/backyard breeder. One of his sisters called the authorities, but his mom talked her way out of it. Now SO is the only one who talks to that sister. I didn't realize how normal and calm my family is until I met SO's.
There's some drama on my Dad's side since he's basically estranged from his two brothers due to an long standing disagreement over the proper care for my mentally challenged aunt.
It came about after my grandma died over 6 years ago. It's sad because it's not what my grandma would have wanted. I try to stay out of it for the most part. I keep in touch somewhat with one of my aunts.
Other than that, there is a little bit. But I'm not involved in it.
Extended families ... there aren't any feuds or anything, but we both have relatives that can be pains in the ass and so we just avoid them if possible.
And we both have relatives who picked up and moved to the West Coast and just started ignoring everyone. We sent them invites for our wedding and never got any kind of reply at all. No real "drama" since we don't ever interact with them, but it's just bizarre.
Post by stingsharkruns on Sept 19, 2012 8:59:16 GMT -5
In my immediate family (Mom/StepDad/Sisters) - no drama. we all get along very well.. My extended family ... there is currently a little drama w/ one of my cousins.
My Dad's side of the family: My Dad doesn't talk to any of them. My Grandma & Papa will sometimes try to ask me about my Dad, and tell me to tell him to call them.. uhm, the phone goes both ways. Leave me out of it.
DH's family.. I don't know. I don't see them that often. I stay out of whatever goes on with them.
Post by marchmom06 on Sept 19, 2012 9:06:08 GMT -5
My mom's extended family has some level of drama, but in my immediate (parents, sister, etc) there is no drama. My sister is my best friend, & we all get along & enjoy spending time with each other.
My parents are certainly getting *quirkier* as they age, but I love them anyway.
In the grand scheme of things we're moderate drama.
But it feels pretty awful. Lots of drama between my sister and dad, some drama between me and Lydia, mom's life is something of a basket case. Plenty of drama of various stripes with extended family.
W's family is probably lower drama now, but it was higher drama for a while.
My mom's side all get's along well and we get together often. My dad's side is crazy! Both of my grandparents on that side have passed away, so once the estate is settled I think they will all drift their separate ways and things will calm down. There generally isn't too much drama in my immediate family, occasionally my mom will go nuts, but my sister and I are use to that. My dad has some crazy political leanings, but usually keeps them to himself. My sister's latest craziness is really out of character now that I have had time to process more of it.
Pretty minimal. For the most part everyone tries to keep the peace. My mom goes at it with her sisters every now and then, but it is more gossip than anything else.
There was a ton of drama when I was around 10 and my parents were getting divorced. They constantly badgered me for details on the other, screamed nonstop, took each other to court about money on what seemed like a monthly basis, etc. Thankfully they have zero contact now.
My family is very normal, but DH's family makes up for that with their crazy drama:
His younger sister got pregnant when she was 15 and now has a 13-year-old daughter (the biological dad is in jail). She's been in several unhealthy relationships and, sadly, it appears that our niece is on the same path (she posts all kinds of sexual stuff on her FB).
His other sister is morbidly obese and disabled because of her weight. She has a deadbeat husband and lives in a trailer park. They are on welfare.
His dad is a former coke addict and repeat DWI offender. He's been clean for over 10 years, but it still makes me nervous knowing about his shady past.
God, there's always drama. My parents were/are shitty parents who were abusive when we were younger and who are manipulative now. My sister and I have so many issues with them it's not even funny.
My ILs also have their fair share of drama, although more of it revolves around my passive-agressive MIL/FIL vs DH's middle brother.
I'm always in awe of families where everyone gets along and actually likes each other. For the longest time I even thought it was so weird that there are actually people who will willingly call their parents some evening and just chat for no real reason. That idea is just so foreign to me!
My family is all drama, all the time - on both sides. It's insanity. It's embarrasing compared to DH's family. They aren't perfect by any means, but there is zero drama.
There is drama in my extended family. My mom fills me in on it all the fucking time. Little drama in my immediate family, other than my freeloading sister. Not really my business, though.
H has a little drama in his extended family, because his uncle is in charge of upkeep on the "family" vacation home and has turned it into redneck paradise. LOL. He also double booked a week that I asked him to reserve months in advance, so my friends and I had to change our plans at the last minute. He was really passive aggressive and rude about it. I try to avoid him now.
Absolutely no drama in H's immediate family. They are awesome.
None in me or my husband's immediate family. In my family, we all have similar beliefs so that probably helps. There's a lot of drama among my mother in law and her family.
Too damn much! My favorite is that SIL is 23, divorced, and got pregnant by someone else less than 1 month after said divorce. A few weeks after she found out she was pregnant she got in a fight with the guy, kicked him out (yes they already moved in together...sigh) and said the baby wasn't his. They made up 2 days later and everyone, EVERYONE is pretending she never said it. She didn't invite us to or even tell us about their wedding but MIL yelled at DH for not going. ^o)
Mom and dad have an annoying tendency of complaining to me about how crazy the other one is. They're quite divorced. Otherwise my family and in-laws are nice and normal
H's family is a little ridiculous. We're pretty uninvolved, but two of his sisters aren't talking to the youngest one, and his oldest sister won't see his parents. His mom claims the oldest and youngest sister have mental illness (thank you, Dr. Google), and the youngest sister takes advantage of her family whenever she can (free daycare, condo purchased for her, skips out on loans from her parents, etc.). It's mostly pretty quiet, but every now and then, something happens and it all blows up again.
The drama with my family is minimal. Most of the drama stems around my 17 year old cousin who lives with my grandparents.
The drama with DHs family extends farther though. His mom and SIL do not approve of me and have not talked to me in months. DH was told that if he wants to visit with the family that he needs to do it without me. He hasn't seen them since that was said. I see no resolution to this issue in the near future.
Post by hopenotlost on Sept 19, 2012 10:58:35 GMT -5
On my mom's side of the family, things have significantly changed since my grandma passed away (my grandpa passed about 16 years ago). She was an instigator of a lot of drama, and she enabled my redneck aunt to be the way she is. I don't have much to do with any of them, mainly because I live about 40 miles away and I don't care to have them come to my house ever.
My dad's side did a couple of years ago due to my grandma trying to get out of something, and trying to use me as an excuse, and made me look like the bad guy. It was a disaster, but since has been cleared up. Everyone gets along well now for the most part.
My DH's dad's side is normal. His mom's side...ugh. All sorts of drama all the time. We have had issues with his brother being a worthless piece of shit, popping kids out that he can't afford, taking their mom's money even though she can't afford it, etc. It's a mess, but we just live our lives, knowing we can pay for our kids and our bills and don't need anyone else's help.
Tons. People are always mad at each other or not talking to each other. I don't have a relationship with my mother or her family, but I know that none of them really talk and do not spend time together.
My step-mother is a terrible person and the only source of drama in our family. But she and my dad are in the process of divorcing, so that problem is taking care of itself.
Aside from my step-mother, my whole family gets along great. My parents are divorced, but they are very friendly, and my mom and my step-dad always invite my dad over for holidays and family dinners (I suppose that in itself may be abnormal). My siblings, step-siblings, and siblings-in-law are all awesome, as are DH's parents.
We don't really have much in the way of extended family--all our grandparents are dead, and our only cousins are either much younger or much older and live far away so we rarely see them--but we aren't on bad terms with any relatives. Aside from the aforementioned step-mother, I cannot recall anyone in my family ever not being on speaking terms with anyone else.
We were a fairly low drama family until last year. Then my SIL decided to pick a nasty fight with me on the day of my dad's funeral, due to the priest not acknowledging her during his sermon at the funeral mass.
We thankfully don't have major drama, but we do get annoyed with DH's parents. They are retired, in their 60's, and completely healthy, yet they act like they are 85 years old and hate to leave their house. They live 2 hours away and always have excuses about why they can't make it to holidays. MIL didn't come to my bridal shower, my son's baby shower (and he was there because he is adopted, and MIL hadn't met her own grandson), missed DS' second birthday party, didn't come to H's 30th surprise party, and more. My BIL even offers to go an hour out of his way to pick them up and drive them to events, but they come up with lame excuses. I've just learned to accept it.
The only other drama involves my dad's brother's kid. She got knocked up at 16 and again at 18. He loser boyfriend has some kind of minimum wage job and she stays at home, and they have all kinds of public assistance. Three years ago my grandpa died, and my dad's brother was the executor of his will. There are four siblings, and the estate was equally divided between the four of them. They all agreed that it should be sold and the proceeds equally split. Well, instead of selling the house as the executor, my uncle let his loser daughter and her loser baby daddy and the two kids move in to grandpa's house and live RENT FREE. They have been there THREE YEARS living rent free in a house that belongs to my dad and his siblings. My dad and aunts are irritated about it, but are too nice to say anything because they want to keep things drama free. The house is near Chicago and we now just call it our Chicago vacation home. I joke that I should find a job in Chicago and just move my family in to live rent free as well. Grrrr.
Post by wanderlustmom on Sept 19, 2012 19:06:12 GMT -5
My family was mostly low drama until my mom became mentally ill five years ago and then it was like Jerry Springer for a few years, thankfully things have slowed down the last six months and we are back to pretty low stuff, just divorce and blended families.
My DH's family is no drama, they can be a bit boring sometimes, that's the only complaint, all outdoing each other in niceties and kindness.