i have a lot of family close by but we all fell out of contact and i rarely see them. like my cousins and aunt in my hometown, my aunt used to babysit me every day when i was little, but i rarely see her. she was here last summer for a family reunion, first since my grandma passed away in the late 90’s. we all stopped talking to each other after grandma died. i feel kinda guilty about it, but realistically, its not my fault but mom and dad’s fault, and my other aunts and uncles. at the reunion my cousin from indianapolis was here, and when he found out that i hadnt seen my other cousin in 10 years who lives close by, he got kinda pissed at me.
and then on dad’s side they all live in the city close by. i just met my 2nd cousin for the first time this summer, and he is 17 now. i maybe met him as a baby but i don’t remember much from that time period other than things like who i dated, where i worked, and events with friends.
i see my brother and sister more frequently than my aunts and cousins and they both live 2000 miles away.
My three siblings and their families all live in the same city as me but other side of it. I haven’t seen them for over five years or more
My parents live in a rural town three hours drive away and I see them twice a year
I should make more effort with my siblings but why I left it so long is because I don’t like driving far (when I see my parents my father in law drives me)
And secondly I am not good with social visits and inviting people over. I prefer whatsapping them. But I’d like to try see them soon - especially my sister as we got closer on WhatsApp and I see her like a second mother to me.
Yes, i chose to stop seeing my brothers. I didnt want to be seen as they see me anymore and couldnt respond well either.
I have faults, some bad ones too. But i dont want to be forced into the “we are a perfect family and you are the cause of everything bad” story anymore. I want to move out of that, grow. I also didnt like my own responses to them anymore. It always made me angry to be told such things. But if i fight it, i conform to their image of me and i dont like myself either.
I do hope one day i can reconnect to them, but not now.
If I had family that lived close I’d see them every week. I had friends when I was younger that saw their family a lot, sounds nice. But I know that family sometimes are mean ugly people that treat you like crap.
When i graduated highschool i moved out on my own (well, with my best friend) and i barely spoke to my parents. It wasnt intentional but i would go quite long periods of time without seeing them or really talking to them and they both only lived about 5 mins away.
I live in the same town as my Auntie but I have only seen her in person rarely over the last 20 years. It’s only since she became ill with dementia and needed me that she has reached out. She’s always been the type to keep to herself really. Now I talk to her on the phone frequently but I don’t go to her house. Other than my kids, I have no other relatives here.
Yes I have a sister and nephew that live like 5 minutes drive away and I rarely see them. I usually only see them on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and me and my sister’s birthdays.