Family

Dinner with my parents went better than I expected. There were, of course, a few hiccups, but overall the meal was good and the conversation was fun.

I'll take a bit of credit for the fun conversation.

Which leads me to this thought, which came to me as I was driving home: Why does this have to be so hard? Why is it that we can handle interactions and conversations with people we completely dislike, but spending time with our flesh, blood, or adopted families is so tough?

And herein lies my theory: We put on our masks and good behavior around those to whom we're not related. When we're with family, we let down all our guards and just be ourselves.

So let's try this at the next family gathering: Be on the sort of behavior you expect from yourself and others when you're non-intimates. You might have a much better time, and hopefully, discover a sense of humor (and yourself) that you didn't know you had with those folks.

It might be a beginning.

(If this post annoys you, blame the boy. He's spent a few years trying to convince me to back down, and it seems to be working.)