Are your family members and friends nearby, or are they far flung?

Question

Seniors, I've been working with my parents and my in-laws trying to plan Thanksgiving and Christmas get togethers. It can be challenging for us to figure out who will be here and who will not be. Some of us live within 30 minutes driving time of each other; and the rest are scattered acrossed the US and around the world.

How about you? Do you all live near each other? How often to you get to see your family and friends who do not live near you?

Answer 1

I live in a small town where my in-laws live 2 miles away......either direction you go.....not a big family......

Now my family is scattered so I do not see them very often....and if I was to plan a hoilday event for them to all come here, it would never happen.....they all have such busy lives.....I have family in Jacksonville, FL.....All over in Ga.....In Washington and I live in Wisconsin.......

Imiss them all dearly, and try to talk to them daily or weekly.........

I do hope you are able to get everyone together for you Thanksgiving Feast........

Answer 2

Hey Sandwich! I'm not a Senior Citizen yet. I'm only 30 yrs old, but I can answer your question. I have reletives in CT, in S. FL and my parents are in CO. And they are coming down for Thanksgiving this year. Also I have in-laws in NC and Michigan.
As for seeing family members it's a once a year thing. Some I haven't seen in 16 yrs, but hopefully my husband and I can take a trip to CT and see them. As for friends we do talk occasionally on the phone, but not very often. Unless they live in town then it's like once a week or if they need something from me.

Answer 3

All of my elders have passed away in the last two years. I am
now the eldest among my own family now. My husband is the
oldest of his. Our son lives on the SE side of the US now,
and we haven't seen him in about 16 years. He is a JW and
shuns his natural family. Our daughter lives in the same town
as we do. And we see her about once a month, due to her
traveling constantly on business. Since she chooses to be at
her girlfriends' home for Thanksgiving, and to her inlaws for
Christmas Day, we see her and her immediate family only
on Christmas Eve. This is not how I imagined our senior
years to be. I imagined everyone would come to 'grandmas'
house for holiday dinners when I got old. But people have
their own ideas of where they want to be for the holidays now.
Until my elders died, it was a custom we'd go to the senior
in the family for dinners. And it was my eldest aunts house,
after my grandma died. It was the thing to do, as tradition.
It was always the gathering place. And the warmth of all those
congregating was something I looked forward to. Now it's
just my husband and I alone together for the major holidays.
And unfortunately, it seems like the saddest times of the
year. I still have alot of the kid left in me. Wanting to enjoy
the holidays, and Christmas especially. Now there isn't
anything to look forward to. There isn't much enjoyment,
and there is never any excitement. And for Christmas,
there is never that quiet expectation of a gift that would
make your eyes open wide. Times, are what they are,
and I have to find enjoyment anyway I can. I can't even
enjoy the giving of gifts as I used to when I had the income
to create alot of surprises. That all came to an end, the
last Christmas I worked. So I reflect back on old holiday
celebrations and remember the good times. And I also
recall what the celebrations are based upon. And I take
comfort in all of that. Being old and a matriarc, is not what
it's cracked up to be.

Answer 4

Except for one son here in town and another about 3 hours away, every one else is scattered. And even though our son and family over in Germany will be moving back to the states soon, they'll be living way out in Montana! Once in a while we're lucky enough that most of us can get together, but I think it's been about 8 years that everyone made it. The saddest part is that the grandkids don't get to be around their cousins enough to really form a bond.

Answer 5

My family all lives in the same state, but Texas is pretty big. My dad's side of the family all live within a 30 minute drive from my house, except my dad who lives 6 hours away. My mom lives 30 minutes away, but her dad and brother live a couple hours away and her sister's family lives in Illinois. My husband's family is here, in New Mexico and Illinois too, and they don't talk to each other or have family get togethers.... like... ever.

Answer 6

In general I agree with the first poster that it's all completely relative (sorry about the pun!) 1. I suppose, but it's a bit of a stretch. 2. Yes, though it's not obvious (not that that's a bad thing) 3. I never thought of this--I really like the idea and think it's a lovely way to honor someone. 4. Yes, this clearly honors them. 5. Yes, I think this works as well. 6. I like this idea as well, though depending on the name of the honoree the child could end up with a dreadful name (like the pair Hildegard and Bingen :) 7. Another nice idea, but I think it could lead to some dreadful names as well. 8. Like 7, a creative idea that might end very badly for the child. 9. Yes, this is a nice idea, though I don't think there are that many names with such associations that correspond to the whole range of activities that people might like. 10. It's a nice idea, but there is NO WAY that I would let some members of my family name my child, no matter how much I love them and want to honor them. (For example, my siblings and I were all named after Narnia characters, so my mother would never get the chance to name a grandchild, and my mother-in-law's favorite names are Kyleigh and Jayden, so again, no way! If we have another child and want to honor a loved one, my husband and I will retain full naming rights! :) BQ 1: I honored both of my husband's late uncles who died when they were teenagers in a car crash. I gave my son two middle names because I didn't want to honor one over the other and I didn't want to use either as a first name. (His name is William Frederick Robert.) If I have another son I'll name him Samuel Vanderford, as Vanderford is a traditional male middle name in our family. BQ 2: You seem to have done a very thorough job! The best that I can come up with is if the honoree was of a specific heritage (Irish, Italian etc.) and you chose a name from that tradition.

Answer 7

We have a big family on our mother's side. We get together as often because we love to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries or just anything. We also have relatives scattered around, some in the country and others abroad. When they visit we make sure to have a big celebration. It may not be grand but it is as always memorable. We have an annual reunion which we held in different relative house. Sad to say that sometimes we only see our older relatives during wakes and burials. But it is enough to be reunited again. Enjoy your moments with your relatives.

Answer 8

I have two sons, who each have a wife and two children. My youngest son is about 2 1/2 hours to the east and my oldest son is about 3 hours to the southwest. We're in a pretty good place, but I still don't get to see them as often as I would like. I miss them being my little boys. I miss the grandchildren. It's a problem to plan the holidays. You know, their wives have families to work into the holidays too. I wish we were all in the same town, or at least in the same county.... something closer. Gosh, I miss them.

Answer 9

My son and daughter in law live in the next state, but come down at least once a week. I just love my daughter in law, she calls me Mom, has ever since they became engaged. My youngest daughter is very special, she will fly in for Christmas with her youngest son, 13. She calls me every night before she goes to bed. We sometime will sit up all night the first night she gets in and talk until morning. My oldest daughter, will not be coming in this year, she has lyme disease and has not been very well, the antibotics make her very sick. But we will call her and send her pictures. My oldest Grandson is married and I went home for his wedding and then he and his new wife followed me back here and I put them up in a hotel for a week overlooking the ocean.
I have a guest bedroom and a 7 foot couch that opens ito a bed and my daughter is bringing a air mattress for her son.
We will eat too much and laugh, and spend one evening watching horror movies and eating popcorn, sweet and sour meatballs, cheese balls, pumpkin rolls, I cook and freeze for a month before Christmas. Love to cook anyway.
I love the holidays and family.

Answer 10

My parents live about 2 miles from me, my sister lives three blocks away, my other sister lives in Chicago (quite a ways from Utah). My son and daughter live within 30 minutes from me. It's still sometimes a struggle to get us all together.