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Family Road Trip
This year my husband's family has decided to take a road trip for Christmas. For the most part I'm really excited about it; it will be my first time skiing and we'll also be heading to Salt Lake to visit his extended family whom I love. My problem is the actual road trip.
I don't really care for road trips, but because his parents are paying for everything I am not going to complain about the drive. I am really grateful that they're willing to pay for everything. But here's the thing. They're wanting to consolidate the cars we use to get up there and since we a're childless they've decided that we'll meet up with his brother who has a few kids and drive with them up to their condo. Here's the catch. How does one handle a 2 day long drive in a car with people who kind of drive you crazy? She is a good person it's just that interaction is really awkward and I never really know how to carry a conversation with her because she leans to either the gossipy or " my husband's the laziest guy ever" kind of topic, neither of which I enjoy so I tend to sit quietly or (usually unsuccessfully) try to change the topic. To make matters worse her little boys are picking up on her habits and I don't like correcting her boys because I don't want to seem like I'm trying to take over raising them or whatever. (I don't know if that makes sense)
So what are either some games or other ways to avoid the awkward conversations and keep things upbeat or maybe to put in earplugs without seeming like Meg the jerk? I know they aren't expecting me to be the entertainer, but I also don't want to seem like a punk who wants to avoid interacting with them.
Re: Family Road Trip
We play Catchphrase (the electronic version) in the car. We just kind of screw the whole scoring thing and pass it back and forth until we get tired of playing it.
It's easiest if the passenger hits the "next word" button as they pass the game over to the driver, though. Then they don't have to deal with hitting the button while driving and trying to describe the word.
Chronically hilarious - you'll split your stitches!
I wrote a book! Bucket list CHECK!
http://notesfortheirtherapist.blogspot.co.uk
For something like this I would seriously write down a list of topics that I do want to talk about. Maybe celebrity gossip? Things about her? Def stay away from politics and religion!
Maybe you could also bring reading material like magazines or books to share and some coloring books/ small games for the kids, as well as some snacks. That way, when she says 'Have you heard about Harriet?" You can say, "No I haven't heard anything...want some Doritos?"
Definitely also bring your ipod with earplugs with music and a good book loaded so you can drown them out when you need to!
Love the Catchphrase idea, too! GL!!!
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
This is exactly what I was thinking. Plus, why would you want to get stuck in a place without a car? You'd be relying on everyone else to take you places - not cool.
Well your MIL and FIL are "childless" too, correct? How about since THEY decided that everyone should consolidate vehicles, YOU decide that THEY ride with BIL and SIL and YOU drive yourselves?
Or are they only willing to sacrifice your privacy and comfort for the duration of the commute but not their own?
You should just take your own car if you want to take your own car. If your ILs want to consolidate, that's great. But why do you have to do what they say?
I like to mostly sleep on road trips anyway, but I'm guessing that might be hard to do with two kids in the car. Good luck!
Sorry for any grammatical errors. I typed it on my phone and couldn't figure out how to edit it. I'm not trying to make my SILs sound like bad people, they really are nice, it's just that a lot of times they have the "my way or the highway" mentality and it's alienated my husband's parents and sister.
If driving on your own doesn't work, I'd buy a portable DVD player or something. You can watch movies by yourself or with the kids. If you're watching a movie, the need for conversation is minimal.
Also, bring a pillow and an ipod. You can claim you have a headache and lean back with your eyes closed. Or just start reading a book and claim it's so good you can't wait to get to the end. Or purchase a bunch of celebrity gossip magazines and read them all (and let your SIL borrow some so she can read too). Or if you have a laptop, bring that and play solitaire but say you're doing work. There are lots of ways to discourage conversation.
Well my advice was going to be: stop worrying about making waves and be assertive because you deserve sanity during this vacation, including the ride to and from the vacation. If you don't stand up for your wants/needs now, when will you? There's never a convenient time.