Day to Day happenings in my life

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PROMPT November 29th

We need your help filling the Challenge War Chest! In your entry today, write three of your own prompts and then choose one of your own to complete your entry.

What’s your favourite season and why?

If your family weren’t your family would you choose to spend time with them?

Why do you think people love having pets? If you choose not to have a pet, why?

I’ll choose number two to comment on today.

Family as a whole consists of many members. Although I truly love them all and would be devastated if anything bad befell any of them, there are some of the family I wouldn’t choose to spend much time with.
The old saying you can choose your friends but not your family is so true. And yet it is expected we’re supposed to love spending time with family members purely because they are connected through blood or marriage. It doesn’t make any sense at all.
You can probably tell, today has been one of those times when I’ve asked, “Really, are you related to me?”
Christmas time can be stressful for many people, often because of expense, but more so the expectation of “being with family”. Or for some the fact of having no family at all, when the myth of togetherness is thrust upon us at every turn.
Advertisements showing the ‘perfect’ family, opening presents around the tree and Mother carrying in the perfectly cooked roast and all the trimmings. It’s not fair that this image is foisted on the people, making them feel failure or sadness.
The older I get, the more disillusioned I become, which is so sad.
For years I was that person who tried to achieve perfection. The beautifully set table and the perfect meal. Everyone was welcome at our house. I cooked meals for thirty seated guests and family. Then when I said I’d had enough, no one seemed to take over the reigns and I don’t blame them either.
So I haven’t really figured it out. Could we really do Christmas without the guilt? Simply spend the holidays with the ones we wish to, the ones who give us pleasure? Not sure we could get away with it.