General Chat

Goodnight Linda,
sleep well - keep warm.
Tec.

Tec - I have 3 siblings and I am only close to my youngest brother. We have very little to do with my other brother and things are not good between me and my sister which is sad but I'm sure will one day resolve itself. All of us are very different but I think being the eldest I've always felt responsible for keeping everyone happy. Trouble started when I stopped doing that. Families eh? Thankfully my 3 are close.

Amanda - I don't think there are many families that don't have problems of some kind.

S x

Tec it is sad when you come from a large family and they don't get on.
I am from a family of 6 children, 3 brother's and 2 sister's and I only have contact with 1 sister. The other's have very little contact with each other, as far as I know ( but I'm not sure ) 2 of my brother's have no contact with any of the other's, I would love for us all to get together but I don't think that will ever happen. They were all in touch when my mum was alive but then they seem to have drifted apart.

Diane

Have to transfer to the laptop, hubby has a bad throat and needs some sleep !
See you in a bit.
Sandie.x

Well I must say I have enjoyed the time spent on here tonight but as my ache's and pain's are getting to a point I can no longer sit and natter anymore I will get myself a hot toddie and go to bed,

Good night Amanda Sandie and Tec

Enjoy your day Sue and the party tonight

~~~~~~~~~~~~ to the other's who arrive and those looking in

Diane

Your not wrong there Sue , about families all having problems . I get on with both of my brothers ( even if the " mad " lazy one does get on my nerves from time to time , I still love him ) , my eldest brother I see rarely but he phones from time to time , if he is feeling nostalgic or missing our parents .
Having my four " kids " assembled today was an eye opener of sorts , I knew that given long enough one of them would cop the hump with another ( but you can never really predict which one it will be ....lol ) , I hope that in the future they will stay reasonably close to each other.

Good night Diane ....I hope you have a peaceful sleep .

I sometimes think that when the last parent goes the family can often fall apart. If the eldest is a girl then she often takes over. I think I will and I think my daughter will too. She drives her brothers mad sometimes when she bosses them but they adore her.

S x

My mother tried her best to keep the family together when she was alive, and I think everyone made an effort for her sake - although we are scattered all over the UK we would meet at her house at times over the year. When she passed away five years ago, everyone seemed to drift apart. I am in contact with the one sister by phone regularly, but haven't seen any of them for five years.
I think that as I never went back to live at the family house after age sixteen, and with them all being younger - my youngest sister was only six when I left - they didn't really know me, I've often felt that.

Tec.

Good night Diane - I hope your aches and pains don't keep you awake.

Amanda - bickering breaks out now and then but it doesn't seem to last long. My daughter spent a few days with her brother in Hobart last month and that was really good for them but she's not real happy with him at the moment because he can't (or won't) come up for the party. It would be awkward for him because he'd have to fly up today and go home tomorrow and it's money he can't afford. They've sorted it out between them and are friends again.

S x

Goodnight Diane,
Hope you'll feel better tomorrow with some rest,
sleep well - keep warm,
Tec.

Tec - it's odd but my OH is closer to his brother in England than he is to his brother here who lives 10 minutes away. Luckily he is close to his sister who doesn't live far away and I'm very fond of her too so it's always a pleasure to visit.

S x

Well I too must head for the bedchamber,

Hope you all have a wonderful time at your daughters engagement party Sue - enjoy it.

Enjoy your day, Berona who's on the next bus,
Sleep well Amanda,
Nos da Sandie,
Goodnight,
Tec.

Nite Di~~

Sleep well, know how aches and pains can make for restless sleep, try a mattress topper , can make a difference.
Speak tomorrow~~~~~

Sandie.x

Goodnight Tec - sweet dreams.

Well Sandie I have to go too and start my day. We're going down to our daughter's to help set up for their party. Goodnight.

~~~~~~~~to all looking in.

S x

It's a tricky one to ponder on Sue . Every family is slightly different but the dynamics certainly change when the parents pass away . A lot depends in the first place to the parents attitude to " family " I suppose .
I can clearly remember as a little child being amazed that my Dad could go days / weeks without seeing his brothers , I just couldn't comprehend ( then ) him not being bothered by the absence . Obviously now , as an adult I get it . We all go our separate ways but it's such a shame to totally lose all those years of shared experience : (
I am very aware ( even being the baby of the family ) that both my brothers look to me in times of their troubles , I resemble our Mum in a lot of ways ( my eldest brother laughs and says " you did a Mum face " at times ) .

Tec ....it sounds as if in some odd way you probably had to take on the role of " Mum " to your siblings at times , a very heavy responsibility for a young lad I think .

Nos da Tec,

It's gone chilly here but the bungalow is well insulated and warm, in fact we have to put on the cool air conditioning tonight to stop the windows all steaming up despite double glazing.

Sandie.x

Nite from my end Sue~~~

Hope you and the family have an enjoyable day at your dau's party:)
Speak soon~~~~

Sandie.x

Just checked before I logged off, Amanda. I think that's the problem with me. The family have always looked to me to take over when my parents needed help - especially when dad was sick. I often felt a little resentful but I guess they didn't realise. Now I feel that my sister feels I'm letting her down because she has big problems with her family (long story) and I just don't have the energy to cope with her ongoing dramas. I know that sounds mean but I can't fix things for her.

S x

Good night Tec .....sweet dreams to you and the Dutchess .

Sue .....I hope the party goes very well indeed : ))

I ought to be thinking of turning in as I have birthday party sandwiches to make tomorrow for the Grandsons " proper " disco party ( I do hope he doesn't expect me to dance !! ) .....lol