Does anyone else have nothing special to do for the holidays? No family?

[BusynMember]

I get down during holidays. My grown kids are in Illinois or I'd have my daughter's house to go to but we sure aren't driving from Wisconsin to Illinois (three and a half hours) in holiday traffic just for July 4th. Hub and I are pretty much homebodies and don't know a lot of people. Those we do know are busy with family this weekend. So, once again, it's just hub, me and my son and daughter (who are hardly ecstatic about hanging with the old folks). My son, the one on the autism spectrum, never really likes to do anything, so dragging him to the parade and the festivities afterwards will be a chore. Daughter is better--she still seems to like being with us sometimes, although her friends do trump our company. Does anyone else end up spending these more minor holidays alone? (July 4th, Memorial Day).
On top of all that, it looks like rain!

By the way Happy July 4th to everyone in the US!!!!!!

 

[DaisyFace]

Hey MWM--

I am spending this weekend all alone---ALONE. My husband took the kids camping...so it is just me and the dogs.

I have decided I will take myself out to lunch and take a day off from being the "mom".

Yay!!

--DaisyF

 

[Wiped Out]

Yep, we almost always are home by ourselves for the 4th and other holidays. We always have people to our house for Thanksgiving and generally don't travel for Easter or even for Christmas. We do travel around Christmas just not for the actual holidays.

For the 4th we generally enjoy hanging out, grilling, and watching old Twilight Zones (there is a marathon on the Sci Fi channel). If it's really nice I sometimes take difficult child to the pool.

 

[susiestar]

I am all alone this 4th. In the last year or so it has been this way, esp on days I hurt worse. I have a permanent invite to a get together out at the lake cabin owned by the restaurant I used to work in. All employees and former employees do. It is just too much for me this year.

Lately we have tried to do some of the holidays with husband's dad and stepmom. They are getting older and he worries that soon they won't be around. My parents would have a get-together a lot of years, but this year they are telling all that they are "closed" for the 4th. My dad won't go anywhere except maybe the grocery on the 4th.

I hope you can make some special tradition just for you, husband and the younger 2 kids. Or ship them out to friends (even if ds would rather stay home) and do a "date night" with your husband. Make it special for yourself, even if that just means no cleaning or cooking!

 

[BusynMember]

AW, guys, thank you so much. I feel better. Seems to me that everyone has such big plans.
We're going to barbecue and go to a parade and then see the fireworks, just us four. Next year we'll have a camper so maybe we'll go to a campgrounds.

Star, I want you to know how much I appreciate you. You are there for EVERYONE. You are such a great person and I wish I could afford to go to the CD Get Together just to give you a big hug. Actually, I'd like to go to give everyone a big hug. All of you have really lifted me when I needed it the most and I appreciate you all so much.

I hope we have a yearly get together. Next year I would force husband to take the trailer to wherever the get together is!!!!

 

[timer lady]

MWM, since the tweedles arrival & ongoing issues husband & I had found ourselves very homebound (no invites); the few times we'd try to make something special of holidays of this nature it was really too much for kt or wm to handle.

Many of the earlier July 4th celebrations we'd get together to camp with my siblings & their children with the tweedles - then we would have a family birthday party for kt & wm which never worked out at home.

I know that feeling of being home alone on the holidays. Today kt, PCA & I are heading out to a garden center & stopping for pork steaks to grill out for dinner. I'm thinking a Harry Potter movie marathon. (kt is terrified of loud noises so fireworks are out). Sitting about our firepit tonight & make s'mores is on our list as well.

You're not alone with this ~ it becomes a matter of making family rituals of what you do & are comfortable with versus what the rest of the world is up to.

 

[Andy]

.
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We are usually very low key on July 4th. husband just announced he is going to a nearby boat show which means going to his no-good textbook anti-social sister's house. I am going to wash and hang our my vacation clothes from last weekend and earlier this week. Diva has celebration plans with friends (including fireworks).​

Our neighbors did a huge fireworks display last year and invited us so I am sure we will get another invite this year. The private one is nice. I don't like the crowded traffic of the public ones when they are done so very seldom will even consider going.​

difficult child has a ton of little fireworks (sparklers, smoke bombs, pop-its) to go through. We will most likely invite the neighbor kids to assist in getting rid of those. It will be interesting, the people accross the cul-de-sac (their home faces away from ours and do NOT live on our street) have parked two trucks in the cul-de-sac. Wonder if they will move them? I think the kids still have room to do the fireworks away from the trucks but they belong to some not so tolerable people so we better not get complaints. They would be the type to complain about kids doing a little fireworks near their vehicles. (the kids across the street from them have already done smokebombs, ect.) Their vehicles are in OUR area and the kids are not doing anything in their area. difficult child has already done a few pre-fireworks so they should have figured it out by now that more will come tonight.​

So, no huge plans for us either. What happens will happen and if it is a boring weekend so be it. difficult child may grill out something for lunch/dinner. We are having a super late breakfast this morning.​

 

[goldenguru]

I hear you MWM. We do have family here - but we don't get together. Hubby went back to bed (it's 10:45 am here) and I'm bored to tears. My big excitement today will be going to the Salvation Army thrift store where clothes are half off today. Big whoop.

Holidays are over rated. Bah Humbug.

 

[Andy]

husband has an unwanted chore for today. He called me a little over an hour ago to ask me to look up the phone number of our county sheriff's dept. His shed was broken into and lots of items missing!

He is now making a list of things he can remember that was out there. He just called to see if difficult child's bow and arrow was stored at the shed or was here in town. It is here in town.

 

[KTMom91]

We aren't doing anything, either. Miss KT went over to the new boyfriend's house for dinner and fireworks.The people around the corner must be having a HUGE party, lots of cars all over the place. That probably means lots of fireworks, too, so we'll be keeping Bud as calm as possible.

 

[witzend]

I'Tourette's Syndrome 95 here today, which is unusual for us. We went to an Elks Club picnic around noon and stayed for a couple of hours. We were younger than all but two small children than everyone there by about 35 years... Hot hot hot hot. My friend with a swimming pool is out of town, so I called and asked if husband and I could hang in her pool for a while. I have an open invite, but don't like going to someone's house when they are gone. We floated around for a while, went to the grocery, and we're just waiting for the neighborhood nuts to start the fireworks shows...

I can't get too worked up about holidays anymore. If no one wants us for Christmas or Thanksgiving, 4th of July alone is a cynch.

 

[standswithcourage]

No our holiday was BORING!!!! We have been to fire works shows before and it took us forever to get out after it was over so we decided we would stick around the neighborhood and enjoy the fireworks here! Actually it was nice just to be with me and hubby - quiet - but we should cherish the quiet time - my easy child son had to work for a while at the movie theater but he said no one was there - then we had to go feed and take my daughters dogs out because they were at a lake house with friends - so it has been non-holidayish for us too! I know how you feel - you feel like having a pity party but maybe we should count our blessings that it wasnt a crisis - yet!

 

[DammitJanet]

I have always tried to make all holidays fairly special because I grew up an only child so I really didnt have much in the way of a large family to gather with. My parents families were all a pretty long ways away from us so we only traveled to see them once a year. Sometimes it was on a holiday.

Now saying that I tried to make holidays special...it usually only involved my kids and us, and maybe my mom. Even now I try to get together with the kids for all major holidays...xmas, thanksgiving, easter and the 4th of July. Labor day is the first day of hunting season so the boys usually get with their dad. My kids do at least come by or call for Mothers and Fathers day.

So far I am successful at this. Well Hailie wasnt old enough last year for the 4th of July. We didnt go up there last year. We went the right after for her birthday. This year Keyana had to be in a parade on the 4th so Jamie and his family came down to see her in the parade and we did the whole 4th thing down here. It was a blast. The kids actually had a ball watching a concert, dancing together and watching fireworks. When the girls are out together everyone thinks they are sisters because of the blond hair and blue eyes.

MWM....3 hours isnt a long drive. We go 5 to 6 hours depending on traffic to Jamies. When travelling with Keyana it takes more like 7 because of potty stops...lol. It is so worth it to go visit for the holidays. Even smaller holidays.