[Elysium]

On my way to a day with the Family.....and since they don't have a "scared sh|tless" smiley...I'll have to settle for this one....

I haven't seen certain members of my family in 8 months. The last time I saw my Uncle, he verbally assaulted me and got pushy with me. Most of my cousins, who are around my age, are great to be around....but my Mother, Grandmother, and Uncle are all very judgmental and can be quite critical of me. It's like they still think I'm a little kid that needs to be told what to do and when to do it. They don't realize that I am a grown woman.

I'm excited, and I am telling myself that the day will be fun, but there's also parts inside that are just waiting for the crap to start getting flung, and will be waiting with baited breath for the time I have to leave, in order to protect myself emotionally. My goal is to keep those feelings on the shelf and not sabotage the day with them. My goal is to just let it be nice, and let things roll of my back if they come up.

I want to have a nice day with my family....for once in a very long time.

[lynn P.]

((Elysium)) - I'm sorry you're feeling anxiety over anticipation with certain family members and its justified. Hopefully you can stayed focused on enjoying time with the members you get along with. If those members do try to start anything, I'm sure by now you'll be able to stick up for yourself or ignore it. Remind them its supposed to be a happy day, not a judgement day. I hope you end up having a great family day.

[lynn P.]

How did the family gathering turn out ((Elysium))? Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Elysium]

Actualy...I had a great time!

My Mother, and Grandmother pulled their typical condescending, everything's just fine crap, and my abusive Uncle barely said four words to me the whole time, but the rest of my family seemed genuinely glad to see me.

I hung out with my Brother and Sis-in-Law, got to play with my little Niece, and spent time with my Cousins. My Cousin even let me watch her kiddos while her and her Husband set up for the party. I got there a bit early and offered to help. I feel so blessed that I got to spend that time with my baby Cousins, and that my Cousins supported me and sent a strong message to the three in the family that are keeping things hostile.

I'm still scared that the other shoe will drop, on my head, but I'm feeling more secure around my family....other than my Mom, Grandmother, and Uncle that is.

All in all I had a great time and I'm glad I faced the fears I had. The little bit of garbage I had to deal with was worth the amount of joy I received spending time with the rest of my family.

This pic is of my Cousin Kim and her husband Jaime, and their two kiddos Bella and Nicholas. It was Nicholas's 2nd Birthday Party yesterday!! (I put it as an attachment because of the size)

Thank you for checking in on how it went. You're such a Sweetie!!

[lynn P.]

I'm so happy you had a great time Elysium. If you would have let your fears get the best of you and not go - you would have missed out on the members you do enjoy to be around. Thanks for sharing the pic of your cousins family - you're right they are little cuties.