See Your Family Over The Holidays Without Leaving Your Home: Why I finally broke down and did the web cam thing

Finally a year and half since I moved 1500 miles across country, I can see my family again on a regular basis. After months of pestering and threats of being disowned if I didn't hook up the web cam to the computer, I felt the pressure and weakness set in. I did it and.... I love it!

For awhile I was unsure of allowing the family to call me at any moment's notice and peer into my life. It seemed a little invasive. But as time wore on and the big family Christmas reunion was being held, I felt lonely. For the past twenty eight years, I was there. Growing up in a family that tops a hundred people during holiday festivities, excitement is definitely felt. With the loudness that is inevitable when that amount of mouths are in one space, there is a sense of greatness. How could there not be? Looking around and realizing you are a part of something as grand as having at least a hundred relatives in one space at one time... it is quite phenomenal. I never realized it until I was gone.

This year being out on my East Coast Peninsula and my family down in Cajun Country, I wanted to see my cousins who where pregnant with their first baby's. I wanted to see my mom and grandparents; I hadn't seen them in three months. I wanted to see all of the kids running around, screaming in delight of what the holidays bring.

I wanted to see what I was missing.

Who was arguing this year? Who was speaking to each other and who was not? What arguments would break out?

You must love the family dynamics... you MUST.

So, I broke down and figured out how to use that thing that would allow my family to peer into my little world. After downloading software and hooking up to a free web cam network provider, there they were. I on my side of the country and they on theirs all together for the holidays.

The wave of future communications, the web cam is going to be the next way we can all communicate and see one another because there is really nothing better than seeing eye to eye or face to face.

Happy Holidays to All!!

Did your parents mess up your view of relationships?

My mother and father divorced when I was eight. After living without my parents married to one another, I decided I didn't have to get married either. Why when the outcome can be so messy?

Years went by and then one day I met a man and we moved in with one another. We had a daughter. Such a cute little thing but had some serious stomach issues as a baby... whew. We shared the responsibilities with each other. He took out the trash while I cooked. I cleaned the bathrooms and he cleaned the litter box. We took turns changing diapers and giving baths. Everything was perfect or so I thought. It all happened so fast. I never saw it coming.

He asked me to marry him.

What? I asked. I thought we were happy?All this time I had been avoiding this question and here it was. What was I to do? I loved him, yes. I wanted to spend my time with him, we have a blast together. I wanted to lie down every night beside him, he has a nice tummy to put my head on. He didn't like to take baths that much at the time, seriously that issue has gotten better... yay! I had to think about this one.

After the years of dealing with my parents mistakes and their love life, was I going to fall right into their footsteps and get married? What if it didn't work out? My daughter would be the one to suffer the most, I thought. Happily she would be living her life, thinking everything was hunky dory and then one day her parents would get tired of one another and they would split. I wasn't sure if I wanted to place that on her. After some thinking and then some shopping, I started to change my mind. I would have to take a chance on this love thing and in the end I might lose but he might lose too.

There is a funny, funny thing about marriage. After the years pass your love does change as some people worry about. It flips and floats and meanders along. At times you will get on one another's last nerve but you know what? It's cool. Send him out of town for a weekend with the boys. I like to think of it as family and a family is all I ever wanted.

Having seen what your parents went through in their marriage, did it ever hinder your love decisions?

Watching them, did it make you more aware of what you didn't want in your relationships?