Very little family drama this year. Other than one of my nieces getting caught shoplifting (again) earlier this week. When she found out she was being charged as an adult this time she responded by threatening to kill herself (again) and has been commited to a juvenile psych ward (again). So anybody else have some postworthy family drama this year?
So far, no, but only because we skipped the inlaws this year. 
Spending tomorrow with my boringly sane side (mom, her BF, sister, her husband), and tonight was with a few friends and a few of their parents. Sooooo relaxing compared to previous years.
My husband got a text Christmas morning from his daughter in South Dakota. Her daughter (hubby’s granddaughter) was beaten up by her boyfriend on Christmas Eve and he’s in jail. They’ve been together about three years and have a two-year-old. We thought they were doing okay, but I guess not.
I expect there will be some juvenile drama when the granddaughters come over on Monday for their gifts. The oldest (9) won’t be happy that she only has three gifts and that none of them are the iPod Touch she asked for. I have a hard time liking this little girl, and have to remind myself that her selfishness isn’t entirely her fault. Her dad (who has full custody) brings home a new “mother” about every year, along with children that she loses her room to and has to share her stuff with.
Nothing for Christmas, thank goodness. Already posted: The Thanksgiving Bombshell in which my younger niece, age 19, no job, lives off of her folks, has quit college twice already, announced she was going to marry her BF (out of state, has only met him once in person) in a few months and wanted to know if he could move into my place until he found a job.
My sister’s guy friend/tenant (not a romantic thing, just a house-sharing thing) didn’t make it to our family Christmas because he didn’t feel well. When she got home last night, he was doubled over in pain, so they went off to the ER. That’s all I’ve heard so far. Sis is a wreck, guy’s family was enroute to the hospital.
Other than that, nothing jarring. It was a pretty typical day with my side of the family. Husband’s family all live 800+ miles away, but we got no news of drama there, either.
It was just me and my kiddos, all drama free, thankfully. I got a kick out of the gifts my OCD sister sent, though. Three gift cards. Wrapped in bubble wrap. Inside a padded envelope. Sealed with the adhesive and the little metal latch, plus wide tape wrapped around twice.
My mom’s siblings suspected her of stealing their recently deceased mother’s Christmas ornaments and it was up to me to go check out my mom’s tree and see if she actually did or not. The original plan was for all of the siblings to evenly divide them up since they were very meaningful items but they conveniently disappeared before my grandma even died. A few aunts were in emotional hysterics while my mom gave her “I have no clue where they went” routine.
I went over her boyfriend’s house and of course there were the ornaments in all their glory, hanging on my mom’s tree. The thing that I can’t get over is how she can selfishly lie without feeling guilty for the sadness she brought her siblings in an already sad time of their lives. And to put them on her own tree in plain sight! She was never really all that bright. I texted my aunt to let them know where they were and promptly stepped out of the fiasco.
I got into a fight with my father due to the fact that he was buying my brother’s present for the random present exchange on Christmas Eve. This was mostly due to the fact that for some reason my aunt believes that I was going to make him buy my present for that event (which couldn’t be farther from the truth as I hate taking money from other people and the thought had never even entered my mind; to say that I was pissed off at that insinuation would be a great understatement.) My brother had landed himself in jail (twice), totaled his car, and pretty much wasted the entire year away but my aunt assumes that I’m the bad kid for some reason because she doesn’t know anything that was happening with my brother; my dad wouldn’t allow anyone to tell her. I was extremely frustrated by her inaccurate idea of me and the fact that she doesn’t know half of what’s going on with my family and I couldn’t let her know.
I can’t wait for the holidays to be over for the year.
Mostly drama-free, except for a bit of self-induced panic on my end. I foolishly left off shopping for the Princess’ gifts till the last minute, so she only had a couple of things. :smack:I was kicking myself. Fortunately some relatives stepped in and helped me out, with no further incident. I will do better next year, I promise.
Most of the drama-causing relatives either walked off in a huff early on or stayed away entirely. I did find out from one of my ex’s uncles that his family doctor got arrested for writing prescriptions for Oxycontin to anyone who asked, in one of the biggest prescription drug busts in the area. :eek:
My family members hate one another too much to get together for the holidays. The good side of family estrangement is that the holidays are generally pretty quiet. No relationships = no drama!
(I am not lonely. I am with my in-laws, they are bickering non-stop, does that count as drama? Whatever, it’s Florida. I’ve got no complaints)
Day-after drama:
My mother has been progressively getting worse health-wise for a while now. She’s 64, has an auto-immune syndrome (It’s not lupus. It’s never lupus.), and has recently been put on dialysis because her kidneys aren’t working as well as they should be. This is after she’s been put on oxygen and gotten a pacemaker, all within the last 18 months.
She lives alone…my dad died in 2001, my brother and I both live 180-odd miles away. I visit every month or so, my brother less often (but he has two kids he has to either leave his life alone to take care of while he’s gone or travel 180 miles with fairly often). She’s been in and out of the hospital four times since last Christmas.
My aunt (her sister-in-law) arrived this morning to take her to dialysis, and discovered that my mother cannot walk. She has great pain in her feet, and it apparently takes her 2 hours to get to the kitchen and back because she has to rest two or three times on the way (in a pretty small house). So my aunt calls my other aunt (one of my mom’s sisters…she’s about 4’ 9" tall and weighs about 90 pounds) who tries to help her get my mom to the car. Can’t do it. They call the medvan, but the drivers can’t come into the house to get patients. My aunts eventually get her to the door and they get to the hospital.
I get a phone call around noon from another aunt (mother’s youngest sister) letting me know this and trying to get hold of my brother. Every time this aunt calls it’s bad news about my mother, delivered along with a lecture about how my brother and I should come home to check up on her more often and how we’re supposed to magically get her to agree to go into assisted living. I love her dearly, she IS my favorite aunt, but it gets old.
I do find out this evening that the hospital has admitted her. My brother is going to go up tomorrow morning (he has days off this week). I’m calling her in about five minutes in her room to talk to her and find out what else she hasn’t been telling me.
I’m sorry to hear about that, jayjay. Please accept my best wishes for her to receive the best possible outcome.
Many hospitals have a social worker whose function it is to see to it that a patient has adequate post-discharge living conditions.* Such an official may be able to help persuade her that assisted living is the best option for her. Good luck, and keep us posted.
*or at least to inquire.
Reading between the lines, there was drama, but we both caused it and missed it. We couldn’t get to my brother’s because of the weather, which caused all kinds of trauma to the spawn, who’ve been trained to think everyone they meet are little more than presents on legs.
Thanks. My mother has a tendency to not hear what she doesn’t want to (or to “not remember” what she would prefer not to have heard). The last time she was in the hospital (I was visiting at the time), I personally called the hospital social worker and set up an appointment in my mom’s room to go over her eligibilities. After they released her, she had a visit by the local home nursing agency rep to see if she needed to be a client. I also got a promise from her to call Meals On Wheels as soon as her dialysis schedule was set.
As far as I know, she hasn’t received visits from home nurses after the initial few, and she’s not receiving MOW. I keep trying to have the conversation about going into assisted living or moving in with her sister, but she deflects. My mother is a verbal jujitsu master…she can deflect even direct questioning.
It’s frustrating, but it’s my brother’s turn for the personal heavywork this time. Of course, I still have to deflect my aunts’ and uncles’ “reminders” that she’s really not doing well and should be in assisted living or something, as if we could have her declared incompetent and commit her or something. Considering that my aunts and uncles don’t seem to realize that my brother has an entire family that he can’t just up and abandon every time something non-lifethreatening happens to our mom so you can imagine how they dig into me, that’s also frustrating.
Well, Merry Christmas in spite of it all, eh?
Yeah.
We had no family drama - the sister and brother-in-law that haven’t been speaking to us since June still aren’t speaking to us (and didn’t come to the family Christmas dinner).
I was expecting another big holiday blow-up… me vs. my far right, Palin loving, Beck quoting, tea bagger, birther, Fox News watchin’ family. I’m actually slightly left to center but they hold me responsible for everything Obama has ever said or done.
Unbelieveably, not one word of a political nature in two days with them.
It was a Christmas miracle.
My family drama was the same old shit. My BIL has always been an insufferable condescending prick, and his snide attitude has gotten much worse in the last few years. He was in full glory Christmas day at my mom’s.
The capper was when he said the blessing before we ate and tossed off a comment about what a great year it’s been, complete with saying, “No one died and we’re all employed! It’s been a great year for everyone, right?”
Of course, he’s conveniently forgetting I lost my job in May, and my SO passed away suddenly in July. It’s been a shitty year for me.
Stupid question: Why does your dad think it’s OK that she thinks you’re awful but not your brother? (And have you asked your dad that, or would he explode?) Sorry to hear about your stress, though. 
That IS incredibly shitty. I’m sorry you had to be there for that, BiblioCat.