The reason I don't like the holidays is best summed up in one word: Dad. My father is a man with a very short temper who blows up at the smallest things. If things are not perfect or identical to what he believes they should be he gets upset. What makes things unbearable is the fact that he yells and throws temper tantrums all over the house, so no one is really safe. Sometimes he gets so heated he throws random objects---luckily no one has ever gotten hurt.
Being thankful on Thanksgiving is a little hard when all the hard work you put into cooking a delicious meal and preparing the table for a finicky man ends up worthless. There is no "A" for effort or a "Well, there's always next year" with this man.
I can't count how many times he's completely neglected to say thank you for inviting him, for giving him a warm meal, for being good company. What's more is that his name day coincides with Thanksgiving, so we buy him presents and every year since I can remember he's had some kind of critique about what we've gotten him. He always specifies what he wants and he's always displeased with it. When you point out that the item meets his specifications, he proceeds to become more upset and nothing is resolved, only made worse.
The only way we've found to get through these times is sit and try our best to ignore what he says. As with little children you sometimes have to let them cool down on their own before you can speak reasonably with them.
(Yes, I just compared my father to a little child. I think it's a fair comparison)
It's already begun. My dad said we should buy him something at Lord and Taylor, to which my mother replied, "Why on God's green Earth would we shop for that
there?" My dad let us know that he doesn't want
shit, and if we are to buy him
shit he'd
rather not get anything at all!! (Indicating his displeasure by yelling the bold words) So, I cannot wait for Thanksgiving! I wonder what he'll hate more this year, his gift or dinner?
I hope
your holidays are happy. :)