As good as it gets .

[Darksky]

Buster, this kind of situation is being played out all over the 'Christmas celebrating' world. There is such pressure to conform to the establishment's idealised version of Christmas, fuelled by the media. TV adverts by the big supermarkets portray big family get togethers, filmed in soft focus with every family member laughing in ecstasy. There are no arguments in this perfect world, no burnt turkeys, no flu viruses or people with anxiety. And every year we buy into it.

Like Carnation says, enjoy Christmas your own way. Make it your day, just the two of you and sod the rest.

This with bells on^^^stuff the Hallmark Christmas. It just doesn't exist. Do it your way, it's only a day anyway.

[Darksky]

Merry Christmas Buster, hope you're doing ok with it.

heres to a peaceful New Year for you too

[pulisa]

Merry Christmas from me too x

[Buster70]

Hi all , haven’t been on for a few days wallowing in self pity at where it all went wrong , I think it may have been when I sold my soul to the devil , baby Jesus has never forgiven me .
The idea of Christmas in my head is a cross between the waltons and darling buds of may , reality is more Eastenders .
So my day started with a phone call in bed from granddaughter who’d got her first phone , she’s now using it to message insults to me , walked the dogs and a little glimmer of Christmas spirit was restored as I saw someone had put a set of battery lights on the tree in the woods , I commented to another lady dog walker “it’s enough to lift your spirit to stop you throwing yourself in the river , well at least until the batteries go “ .
Kids and daughters cake round to unwrap presents, younger one didn’t talk to us and they all buggered off for dinner elsewhere.
My brother managed to bring my mum round for a few hours and had dinner with us , it was a lot of faffing about because she’s so ill now but we’ll worth it and they seemed to enjoy it , partner has been so nice and done so much to keep everyone happy , I’ve told her several times how much I appreciate it .
So im putting this down as a good day and much better than expected .
I also went to see my dads sister the other day who I haven’t spoke to for years , we had a very long chat about family etc , I found out some real family secrets now I’m older and she doesn’t care .
I seriously hope that your Christmas days were good or at least bearable.
Thanks to all of you who have offered support this year , I won’t say your names in case I miss one out but you know who you are ,yes you over there the worried looking one .
Merry Christmas.

[fishman65]

Hi Buster. That sounds like a mixed bag, insults from a grand daughter sounds awful and must be very distressing. However, at least your partner seems to be carrying on the Christmas spirit and a talk with your aunt was beneficial? The 'season of goodwill' often turns out to be anything but. All I can offer is the possibility of 2020 being a better year than this one for you. Take care buddy.

[Buster70]

Hi fish , hope you had a good one or goodish, when I say insults from granddaughter it’s in a good way ,we’ve always been close and spent a lot of time together, she feels she can tell me anything sometimes too much , on the way to school recently “ Granddad today we’re learning about vagina’s “ me “ ok stop talking I’m zoning out to a happy place “ her “ why we are “ somethings you don’t want to discuss with a 9 year old , her insults include calling me a cross dresser because I once tried a pair of tights on that my parter said were ridiculously small , I was only proving a point I didn’t slip a dress on and go to gay pride , she even made up a woman’s name for me which she won’t let lie , you should hear us argue when playing a simple game like frustration or hangman .
Been watching Kylie Minogue at Glastonbury today , a real guilty pleasure ,not my kind of music at all but you can’t help but smile and she is very easy on the eye .
I do struggle with relaxing and doing nothing , by tomorrow I think cabin fever will set in and I’ll have to get in the shed for therapy.

[fishman65]

Glad to hear it was just banter with your grand daughter Buster. Nothing wrong with a bit of cross dressing, if that's the bag you're into then so be it

This Christmas hasn't been 'too' bad compared with some in the past. In fact our daughter made us quite emotional with a gift she had made by sending photos of our two dogs to some website or other. They then create a book using the pictures in bespoke fashion. It's one of the best presents I think I've ever had

PS - your shed looks like the Tardis, if only eh?

[Buster70]

Fish my daughter gave us the same thing last year , obviously not photos of your dogs that would be weird , it had photos of our past and present dogs and the grandkids with a caption on each page , it is a real nice gift .
Well what difference a day can make in a family , spent Christmas hurt that my daughters chose not to include us in their day and the thought would not leave my head like a hamster in a wheel going round and round ( other rodents are acceptable) I was so tempted to let them know how much they had hurt us but two wrongs dont make a right so I kept quite to keep the peace , the day after Boxing Day my daughter asked if we’d have the kids , again tempting to say sod off , it turned out she had to take her dog to the vets , we had some fun with the kids then came a call we didn’t expect the dog had cancer and had to be put to sleep , we’ve looked after the dog a lot over the years and walked it with ours so it was a real shock , we were so upset but had to keep it from the kids so I had a little blub in the shower , my daughter took it very badly and stayed in bed crying all of the next day, taking the kids home was the only thing to get her up , she says she feels like she’s lost a baby , the pain of losing a dog or other pets really is as bad as losing family , so we’ve paid the vets bill and tomorrow I’m picking up the dog and taking it to be cremated , they’re broke after Christmas so we’re paying , a week ago I felt like I didn’t want to do anything for them again but when it comes to it we will drop anything for them , life is way too short to stay hurt and angry at people you love .
Im not looking forward to this trip to the crem as last time I was there it was my dog and my older dog is thirteen so it’s in my thoughts that she won’t be around for ever .
If your wondering why I look different after Christmas it’s because I’ve eaten my own weight in chocolate and put on half a stone , hunger strike for January same as every year .
Happy new year just in case i don’t pop back before then .

[Carnation]

Happy New Year Buster x

[fishman65]

Happy New Year to you Buster. It sounds like a bitter sweet ending to this one for you mate. I'm really sorry to hear about your family's loss. People who don't have pets can't understand, dogs (and cats) are family members. Losing one is devastating. 30 years ago on the 6th December our Rottweiler died. He was taken ill suddenly while I was at work, my Mum had to take him to the vet's where he died. The crematorium trip will be tough for you but you'll be ok. Having said all of that, this has brought you all back to together so every silver lining has its cloud eh?

Take care buddy.