I come from a family that loves to complain.
Don’t get me wrong, they will never admit it.
They are under the impression that they are all incredibly tough and nothing can get to them. However, if you make the mistake of telling them about something that’s ailing you, you’re about to get an earful about how terrible their problems are. There’s no way that your issues can begin to compare to how difficult their lives are. It’s extremely maddening. It doesn’t matter if you’re calling because you have a head cold or because your dog died – somehow it’ll be worse on their end. Recently, my mom wouldn’t stop calling me to tell me all about how awful the weather was in her area. She was completely aghast about the outdoor heat and humidity, and she was releasing some of the heat by venting at me. She kept telling me that the air conditioning system was running harder than ever before. She insisted that she had never been so hot and uncomfortable in her whole life. She wanted to turn off the central cooling system, but she honestly worried that she would never be able to sleep again. Instead, she was facing the reality of paying for a ridiculously high energy bill after all of this hot weather. She rambled on and on about her heat and indoor cooling problems, while I sat silently back and let her complain about the climate. I knew there was no point in reminding her that her heat and humidity didn’t really compare to my daily reality living in the deep south.