The next wonderful blogger in my guest post series is Clare;
Clare is not only one of my favourite bloggers I am super honoured to call her my friends too.Her blog, Emmy’s Mummy & Harry’s Too is packed with masses of features on parenting, family, adventures and even the odd recipe in there too!
You can also find Clare here so do pop over and say Hi:
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Family Divided
I’ve always had a close relationship with my husband’s family, back in the early days of dating I would turn up to Paul’s parents house on a Friday afternoon and spend the afternoon with his Mum in the kitchen – helping to cook the dinner, washing up together or just chattering until Paul came home. I would spend the weekend there and return home after work on Monday evening.
At the weekends Paul liked to sleep until past lunchtime so often I’d go shopping with his Mum or just sit downstairs with the family.
Paul is one of 3 boys so his Mum did love having a girl around the house and having someone to go shopping with instead of dragging the boys reluctantly.
Even when Paul and I moved into our own home we still had a close relationship and I’d visit her often and vice versa.
It was a lovely relationship but that what she was like…lovely. she had this way of welcoming everyone and they just loved her. She bonded the family together.
Over the years there was always a house full of people at Paul’s parents. Aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. They were always welcomed. Family parties were the done thing and there was always an occasion to celebrate.
The whole family was the closest knit unit I’d ever seen.
That suddenly all changed after Anne passed away in 2015 and Paul’s Dad got a girlfriend.
The close-knit extended family unit fell apart as Anne’s side if the family weren’t happy about this.
They no longer seemed to care that Paul’s dad was happy….they didn’t approve that he had a new lady in his life and that was that.
Family parties have stopped, calls to the boys non exist and it’s now almost a case of them and us.
It may of course not be intentionally, they however have made their feelings clear on the matter of the relationship and that’s that.
The boys of course support their father, they want to see him happy.
But it now seems that happiness has cost the boys that close-knit relationships they once had with extended family members, that close-knit bond which they’ve had their whole lives.
That’s where we currently are still – a year down the line, a family divided but that’s life I guess!
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Why not pop over and see what else Clare is writing about over on her blog, Emmy’s Mummy & Harry’s Too.
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