So I went to my family’s annual July 4th party yesterday. Many relatives were absent, one due to his severe alcoholism. My grandma was there, her dementia is beginning to completely erode who she is, and my biological father stayed home and did nothing as he does now since my parents’ divorce. My kids had no cousins there to run around and play with because my brothers don’t want kids, and because of this my wife, kids, and I were engulfed by 8 or 9 other attendees. “Awh look at how big your kids are now anon” they’d say, while having no kids of their own to love and watch grow. My relatives are all aging and petty conflict has driven them all apart so many guests didn’t show at all. I found myself slamming beers when I wasn’t with my wife and kids because it was unbearable “catching up” with my other family members because they’re all so aged now and are in the decline of their lives. It all seemed so sad and hopeless. Many of them struggle with the same problems they’ve talked about for years and the stories are all the same. I recall a time when my parents were together and the entire neighborhood was buzzing with excitement and explosions from fireworks. We’d all go to the park to watch the city fireworks show. That time has come and gone. Now, it feels like I’m watching the slow-death of my once thriving family and all of our family traditions. Each year, the holiday parties are smaller. The advertisements for festivities at the local supermarkets even seem more worn out and tired than they used to and this seems to be the case for every holiday. Every year it is harder to continue the family holiday traditions of old. Anyone else have a similar experience? Aside from my wife and kids, our family seems very divided and dispersed - no sense of unity, and everyone is getting older. The ice cream is melted. The beer is flat and stale, the sun somehow seems more dim than yesterday, and I don’t know why exactly.