You do not have to show up at unsafe parties even if it makes other people sad, this year or any year.
Category: Families
#1345: Newborns, vaccines, and visiting relatives.
Wear a seatbelt! Where's your helmet? Will there be parents there? Parenthood requires willingness to say no to lots of fun stuff in the name of safety, there's no time like the present to get started.
#1339: Tired of “Moocher” Son-In-Law
Your house, your rules, so spell them out from now on and give your son-in-law a chance to surprise you.
It Came From The Search Terms: June 2021 Is Busting Out All Over
Soft rejections, mixing finances, and a primer for dealing with loaded questions.
#1336: “Shutting down pressure to see transphobic and homophobic family.”
Content note/reminder that describing bigotry accurately sometimes includes examples. Followed by the usual reminders that boundaries are more about deciding what you will do than about what you can convince other people to do.
#1304: “Fox News stole my mom and replaced her with a ranting lady who won’t let me say or do anything without it setting her off. How do I get along with her until I can leave for college?”
On calling bluffs, escape velocity, and the futile, necessary, but probably still futile, work of reclaiming some of our relatives from history's flaming dumpster. Content note: Sometimes honestly talking about authoritarian stuff and white supremacy means describing it, so there are examples of actual racist and xenophobic statements from relatives herein.
#1302: Guest Post: “When your hosts are doing you a favor but their housekeeping habits are making you sad and ill.”
Hello, this week we have a guest post from Rachel Hoffman of Unf*ck Your Habitat blog and book fame about the tricky balance of maintaining your own sanity (and sanitation) in a house where you are a guest.
Links: The Holidays and What To Do About Them
Weird holidays, weird year.
#1293: “I’m worried my family’s anger about me being a trans man will overshadow my sister’s wedding.”
Licensed therapist Rae McDaniel reminds a reader that discomfort is not harm, and trans people aren't messing up their family events by existing at them.
#1292: “My creep sister is forwarding my queer child’s social media posts to our conservative parents. How to draw a boundary without outing my kid?”
"I'm not a bigot, I'm just really *worried* that you and your child are total deviants who don't deserve rights." -Some Dipshit
