When our families grow up into functioning adults, family get-togethers and holidays can sometimes be difficult. We are fully independent, have our own lives and yet sometimes everyone falls back into their childhood roles. One plays the dominator, another one is the people pleaser, someone else is the blamer and maybe one doesn't even show up at all.
And, to keep the peace (or so we think), we decide to go along with it and just deal with the situation, internally. Even if we only see them two or three times a year, if we are in a stressful family situation, we most likely have figured out the "dealing with it" in reality, creates more stress. The holidays certainly don't feel like a vacation and they end up being more........read more