Survival! Tell your Thanksgiving survival story.

Did you survive Thanksgiving? I did survive and didn't let them get to me. I actually had a good time overall.
There was a point I had to put headphones on without music just so people would leave me alone because they thought I was listening to music. They backed off on their own without me telling them to.
I did write my parents a note, but didn't deliver it today, about my time helping coming to an end soon. I will deliver it within a few days. I must leave here and start my own life, for me, for the first time in my life.

I drank two very small glasses of wine and fell asleep after dinner for two and a half hours and when I woke up it was time to go. Lol!

it was thanksgiving weekend 2012 when I went IP ... and started all this ...

5 years later and I am sure I will survive ... not always easy ... but now I am 100% sure I will survive ...

keep hope all ... it may seem hopeless ... but things can and often do change ... it may take awhile ... but never lose hope ... be thankful there is always hope ...

if it seems no one is thankful for you ... remember the Tigger is ... Love ...

I planned on avoiding my immediate family by not going over my mom and stepdad’s house. I went to Cracker Barrel and purchased thanksgiving dinners for me plus my daughter. The food was trash. I went two years ago and it was good. This taste like hospital food. I took a nap then my mom called wanting me to come over. My oldest daughter called next and she was crying. She asked me to meet her at my mom’s house. I said yes. A few minutes later my grandmother called. She told me not to worry about my daughter to drive safe. I made it to the house and she was talking to my sister. I talked to my oldest daughter and she was having racing thoughts. I told her how the thoughts try to get in your head and ruin your day. I shared some of my racing thoughts and she shared some of hers. After we talked about how untrue her thoughts were she felt better. We ate and went to a few stores. Although I arrived towards the end of dinner it was ok.

We did it Wednesday because my sister had to work Thursday afternoon and night (at Toys R Us and Target, poor thing). What was initially meant to be my parents, my sister and her family, my brother and I turned into a whole last minute thing where most of the family showed up. It went off pretty smoothly though...

... and then there was today, which started out okay. I relaxed at home, watched the Dog Show and went to the pharmacy to pick up my meds. Later in the afternoon my mom returned home from the hospital, where she had taken my grandma to visit my grandpa who was admitted on Wednesday morning for lung pain. Turns out the doctors think he has cancer -- a lot of cancer (signs of it in his lung, liver, bone and spine).

And of course it wouldn't be a holiday without my dad blowing up at somebody, which he did tonight (my mom and me). He's clearly psychotic but refused to go to the hospital. Instead he spent nearly an hour complaining and accusing my mom of cheating on him and calling her fat and ugly and just acting super duper paranoid and incredibly mean towards my mother. I used to think he was just bipolar like me, but the more and more I look into it, it seems he might legitimately have paranoid personality disorder. Of course he refuses to go see a psychiatrist. I'm thinking it is time for a family intervention to finally get him into treatment.

Anyway, that was my holiday.

Some of us herein did ok, and some did not. I hope all your lives smooth out somewhat soon.
My dad did blow up at me yesterday as well over wanting me to do the dishes when I said I'd do them while letting a few things I was about to make simmer. My mom immediately tried to guilt me. I had already put one earbud in place when she started, and then I put the other in and my hand up as a stop sign, directly in her line of sight, so that she would see I wasn't having it.

Well, well...let's see. I told my out-of-town sister and brother to NOT come to town. Then I went to see my 94-year-old mom at the local nursing home, which was VERY busy with visiting families. I had a wonderful, yummy lunch there, but, because of having to bloody scream every word (most residents are hard of hearing), I left with a sore throat as usual. The nursing home director snubbed me blatantly -- details boring. So I came home, cried myself to sleep, then stumbled to bed. I expect Christmas day to be a repeat. I LOVE January, when this is all over. Holidays are almost unbearable.

My pdoc asked me about my T'giving & Christmas plans earlier this week. I told him that he needn't bother asking, that it was WAY too complicated. He looked dismayed.

Yep. I just retreated to my room and put some music on and fell asleep. When I woke up it was dark outside and all the lights were off and everyone was gone, and I woke up to blissful silence in the house.

Had a great day!


WC

It was an OK day -- they gatherings get smaller and smaller each year. We went to my mom's house. It was just my sister, myself and mom. I didn't mind it much, but it did make things feel ..off. I say that, but I feel nothing off with not having a christmas tree put up or any decorations for the last 11 years (ever since my brother died, when I was 15). Anyway -- it went fine. I was able to break up the monotomy with some shopping interspersed in the holiday.

Yesterday was fine, but today I feel low. I feel like crying and I don't really know why. Post-Thanksgiving blues? haha

Was okay , went to SIL for dinner, About 30 people there so I was a bit on edge since I didnt know anyone.

I was glad to get home last night

I had a strategy for surviving Thanksgiving. I didn’t end up using it as I couldn’t get my panic attacks under control and didn’t go. I’ll try again at Christmas. My daughter did bring me back a truly delicious plate of food and pie and then we snuggled on the couch and rented a movie so that part was nice and really more important to me then the rest of it.

How do some of you have someone in your lives nice enough to bring you back food when you don't go? Nobody's ever done me that one. I must admit a bit of jealousy here.

Had a great Thanksgiving. We had invited a couple families over, but our family came down with colds on Tuesday and Wednesday so we had to call off the gathering. However we were all feeling OK by Thursday, so we still did it up right. I️ roasted a 22 lb turkey, we had stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, awesome green beans with bacon and onion, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and I️ think that was it. It was the first Thanksgiving where it was just me, my wife, and our four kids, but it was great.

Today was lighting and decorating the Christmas tree, a lot of board games, and ping pong and pool.

It’s been a busy holiday so far.

I went to my sisters and it was t so bad but by time miners supposed to goner my
Boyfriend and his family I was freaking becuSe people around people was too much and I was scared of the demons

It was a quiet day.

I was missing family no longer with us. I’m sad that my mother-in-law won’t have us over; she hasn’t since her husband passed away. I guess it bothers her to see me and my daughter—I think it reminds her too much that her oldest son is gone too.

I absconded to the bathroom and cried profusely only about three times. So I'd call that a success

Tehehe. Lucky I guess. It was ugly when I didn’t go. One of my family members made a scene.

I never realized how hard family gatherings can be. I’m really glad my thanksgiving was good at the end. My mom’s dressing is out of this world. It’s a cornbread dressing from scratch. I’m going to call my older daughter when she gets off work later. I want to see if her racing thoughts started back. Sounds like everyone used coping skills. We all need some self-care now.

Went to daughter's boyfriends family "dinner" at noon. (My daughter was working 4pm-midnight on Thanksgiving, so his mom decided to start early.) It was going well until my husband was bit on the hand by one of the dogs there. He's okay, and the dog was okay after a while (overwhelmed by all the people). His mom sent home a lot of food. My husband and I did our own dinner. We don't like turkey much so we have a Cornish game hen with the usual sides. That was great. Still have leftovers.

Just glad I didn't have a panic attack when it was all over.