The month of December seems to be a time filled with love, joy, relaxation, and family. Wintertime and the holidays tend to bring out the best in people whether it is Christmas, Hanukah or Kwanza. This may be normal for conventional families, yet how is there supposed to be genuine family bonding when everyone hates one another…
Our family feud first began after the passing of my grandparents. The will had been set 100% evenly; although between five brothers and sisters, (one being my dad), people became greedy and started taking more than they were entitled to. Of course, due to the peaceful and calm nature of my family, we got the short end of the stick and only came out with two pairs of gaudy gold hoops. Siblings started to fight verbally until the anger escalated and physical fights took place. Adults were acting like children, and the children wanted their parents to grow up so that we could be a real family again. Instead of mourning the death of our beloved grandparents, my steadfast aunts and uncles were too busy fighting over a red leather sofa.
Fast-forwarding almost a year, the Holidays are just not the same anymore. There was unbearable tension around the table; I even feared people would start spitting in the food.  My mom, forever a peaceful person, was very uncomfortable with the whole situation and tried to create a sense of peace and harmony. It makes it very hard to achieve peace when no one is even attempting to settle his or her differences. At this point, the family was spread out in all different rooms and you could hear a sense of abhorrence in their voices. This may seem pretty childish now, but it only got worse as the night progressed.
During dessert, the conversation ventured onto the topic of presents and the prices of holiday goods. Out of the blue, one aunt got aggressive, another started to yell, and pretty soon there was a full-blown brawl in my dining room. Shoes were being thrown around the room, pumpkin pie took flight, and even coffee was airborne! My dogs were overjoyed by the sweets being tossed to the ground while others were watching in amazement. It was all fun in games until someone got a Nine West shoe to the face and the blood started to flow. The aunt who had started the brawl in the first place got her punishment. She fell to the floor in agony screaming and crying until the ambulance arrived.
After everyone had left in complete shock and embarrassment, my aunt’s husband called to tell us about her progress. As it turns out, the heel on the shoe shattered her nose pretty badly. In excruciating pain, she talked to my mother on the phone through the painkillers and apologized to her for the scene she made and for the mess she created. My mom accepted her apology reluctantly, and decided it was time to stay out of family affairs.
After last year’s mess, my parents have decided it would be best to spend Christmas away from the family in order to show them that fighting is not part of the holiday spirit and we will not condone it. Maybe they will get the memo, maybe not. This traumatic experience taught me two things, no more high heels on Christmas, and, the holidays are much more festive on the beach with a piña colada in my hand!