Posted 11/28/2014 11:05 AM (GMT 0)
Sometimes I wonder if I should tell the family that next year I've chosen to volunteer at a soup kitchen instead of hosting Thanksgiving. All I can see is positives....people appreciate what you're doing, you get to think about someone less fortunate and not so much about your own anxiety for awhile, it's alot less expensive, and actually less work The family always SAYS they're so excited about coming to your house but why shouldn't they be....they show up with some little appetizer that took them five minutes to make, sit down and stuff their faces, then after a short time of making mindless conversation out of a sense of duty, they make an excuse why they have to leave, and your left with all the cleanup (oh maybe they walk a dirty plate out to the dishwasher but that's about it ) Dont get me wrong, I love my family (as annoying and selfish as they can be ) and I adore my twin three year old grandsons, but the truth is they don't really understand or care how much time and work is involved in all this preparation....I didn't have an issue when I was younger, but at 67 it's taking alot more out of me, not to mention the money involved for a person who's only surviving on Soc. Sec now. It's time to make a change and do something really worthwhile and unselfish - and maybe in the process my anxiety level would go down. I do find that doing something for someone less fortunate has it's rewards (I take care of a woman who has Lou Gherigs Disease (ALS) and I never have anxiety while caring for her). Time for some of us to get a new strategy.