I think moving through LIFE is a difficult journey. I have trouble balancing the needs of my immediate family with those of my extended family. I'm curious how others do it.
Do you just focus on your little family and ignore the backlash around you? Do you try to find a happy balance? Do you cave it to the desires of the larger group and explain to those closest to you why we make the sacrifice?
With young kids in the mix, I want to make sure I set a good example and do what is "right". Any tips from your family would be greatly appreciated!
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We don't deal in absolutes when it comes to our extended family. For the time being, it's impossible to ignore the circumstances surrounding our extended family. At other times, we have been more private.
We take a few minutes each Sunday night to prioritize what needs to happen during our week. We talk about who needs what, who wants to see the kids, what do we all have going on, etc. We also make a point to preserve some downtime for the 4 of us (generally our Friday movie night).
I hope things settle down. It can be stressful on a normal day, but it seems so much worse because of the holiday.
Some situations are different than others, of course, but for things like on-going continual drama (the kind that doesn't seem to ever have an ending - where no one really wants to resolve anything) we isolate ourselves from that. We have children who don't need to be around that and, to be frank, Chris and I don't need that either.
Now, for other situations that can come up in life we take things on a case by case basis - but our family still has to come FIRST.
I guess I look at it like, if the 5 of us aren't stable, then we really can't offer any stability or help to anyone else in the moment anyway.
The holidays always seem to bring out drama ... I hope it smoothes over soon for you.
xoxo
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