LIFESTYLE

Different Standards of Living in the Family Create Awkward Situations

I just want to be clean and comfortable

Everyone has their own standards of living. What one considers normal, another might consider odd. But the majority of us fall into a socially acceptable category.

In social circles, most of us choose to be around people who match our views of etiquette, manners and values.

And then, there’s family.

My family is strange

You’ve heard the phrase, “You can’t choose your family.” I have some unique characters in my family. I love all of them dearly, but their lifestyles drive me insane. Most notable are my mom and her sister Carla.

My mom has three sisters. Their mother was a classic hoarder, the kind you see on the TV series Hoarders. You can read about my family of hoarders here. She passed some undesirable traits to her children. There were good ones too, such as kindness, compassion and love. But the worst traits — hoarding and gambling — make me wonder if my grandma was mentally ill with an addictive personality. I’m pretty certain of it.

All of Grandma’s daughters have hoarding tendencies, some worse than others. My mom is the worst because she has the…