Am I the only one that gets unexpected family facts dropped on me during the holidays?

[Micael]

So my mom has a distinct tendency to casually drop in some unexpected fact about relatives and such during the holidays. This year’s (so far, may be more coming) was that apparently one of the current cabinet ministers is my second cousin. Which, you know, you’d think she might have mentioned last year when he became a minister.

I swear she’s just saving up stuff so she can reveal them like this, is mine the only family this happens in?

[Craiglxviii]

Maybe not so much unexpected family facts, but certainly for this Christmas the sheer volume of family news has been noteworthy for us!

[jemhouston]

I found out some family facts after both parents died. I'm not sure how I didn't at least one beforehand.

[MikeKozlowski]

...Well, I found out some great family stories at past Christmases, such as Uncle Fred who is actually Uncle Lawrence, and the Mysterious Case of Uncle Anton.

Mike

[Simon Darkshade]

No unexpected family facts or stories + no family + a nice quiet cool day = a nice Christmas here

[Micael]

...Well, I found out some great family stories at past Christmases, such as Uncle Fred who is actually Uncle Lawrence, and the Mysterious Case of Uncle Anton.

Mike

Ooh, I like it when it gets into the mysterious.

[Zen9]

Women do this.
They wait until you are relaxed and comfortable and then....BANG!!!!

What?
He was what?

The most recent personal example was discovering my Dad was a Sharpshooter during his National Service.
Only revealed when I made a joke about Dad painting coal White and getting a medal for it.
(National Service Personal now get a Service Medal)

[Craiglxviii]

...Well, I found out some great family stories at past Christmases, such as Uncle Fred who is actually Uncle Lawrence, and the Mysterious Case of Uncle Anton.

Mike

Nonono, you don’t get to state “The Mysterious Case of” without at least a novella behind it

[Craiglxviii]

Women do this.
They wait until you are relaxed and comfortable and then....BANG!!!!

What?
He was what?

The most recent personal example was discovering my Dad was a Sharpshooter during his National Service.
Only revealed when I made a joke about Dad painting coal White and getting a medal for it.
(National Service Personal now get a Service Medal)

Mum did this to me earlier this morning in our have-you-recovered-from-yesterday phone call.

Oh, do you remember such-and-such (wife of her cousin)? She used to make the cream pastries when you were young?

Yes, lovely lady.

Oh well she died yesterday.

Mum! Ffs!

[MikeKozlowski]

...Well, I found out some great family stories at past Christmases, such as Uncle Fred who is actually Uncle Lawrence, and the Mysterious Case of Uncle Anton.

Mike

Nonono, you don’t get to state “The Mysterious Case of” without at least a novella behind it

...Okay, short versions:

Lawrence Kozlowski was my Grandfather Wallace's younger brother - Wallace was just too old to go to WWI, but Larry wasn't, and he was smart enough to figure out that if you enlisted instead of waiting to get drafted, you had a better shot at a better job. Which worked out; he ended up a dental assistant with 71st Coast Artillery at FT Monroe....until the US Army grabbed a bunch of old DD guns, threw 'em on railroad flatcars, and sent everybody to France. They got there but only deployed a month or so before the Armistice.

Lawrence had a Good War, and everything to be proud of - but almost consistently refused to talk about his service. In the late 30s or early 40s (it's a little unclear) he legally changed his name to Frederick Smith, with no explanation whatsoever, and pretty much cut off himself and his wife from the rest of the family. My personal guess - and Dad suspected it as well - is that there may have been a Love Child somewhere in France that weighed upon Lawrence's conscience.

Uncle Anton was another matter entirely.

Dad was heavily into geneology in the last couple decades of his life, and he found some beauts in the Kozlowski/Szelminski family trees - but the best one was Uncle Anton. Dad knew there was an Uncle Anton, brother to my Grammy Margaret Szelminski ,her brother Frank, and her sister Antionette (who's a story in herself). But he was always told that Anton died before Dad was born in January of '35. Fair enough.

But while doing his research, Dad found something odd: a death certificate for Anton...in 1946.

Now, the Kozlowskis were some pretty mean folks when they set their minds to it, especially when alcohol was involved...but the Szelminskis....wow. They could have given the Sicilians lessons in vendetta, and my great-grandmother Maria Szelminski was the worst. Everybody had been gone for decades when Dad found this, so we'll never know for sure, but the best guess was that he had done something to piss off Maria, who went nuclear on him and that was that.

Mike

[Nik_SpeakerToCats]

My 'trad roast makings' stayed in fridge as I had bad 'optical migraine' AKA 'ring around fovea' plus a flare-up of my winter bronchitis plus the glums...

Didn't even have energy to zap bacon for filled-baps, I opened a pack of 'corned beef'...

[jemhouston]

Note to self, Do Not Tick Off Mike.

[kdahm]

So my mom has a distinct tendency to casually drop in some unexpected fact about relatives and such during the holidays. This year’s (so far, may be more coming) was that apparently one of the current cabinet ministers is my second cousin. Which, you know, you’d think she might have mentioned last year when he became a minister.

I swear she’s just saving up stuff so she can reveal them like this, is mine the only family this happens in?

Nope, all of that's been shared so far as I know.

I don't particularly need to know what the children of the butcher at the grocery store are up to, but she'll be sure to tell me anyway. Nor what someone else's relatives are doing that I've never met, the someone else instead of the relatives, but I'll be informed of that too. Not actually gossip, just social interaction information. Good thing I don't actually have to remember the voluminous amount of stuff.

[Micael]

Women do this.
They wait until you are relaxed and comfortable and then....BANG!!!!

What?
He was what?

The most recent personal example was discovering my Dad was a Sharpshooter during his National Service.
Only revealed when I made a joke about Dad painting coal White and getting a medal for it.
(National Service Personal now get a Service Medal)

Hah! I’m not the only one at least!

[JBG]

From Funny memes Part Drei, at Navweaps:

"Get your relatives speaking to one other again by sending a heartfelt Christmas card with a picture of your family with an extra child no-one knows."

Jonathan

[jemhouston]

From Funny memes Part Drei, at Navweaps:

"Get your relatives speaking to one other again by sending a heartfelt Christmas card with a picture of your family with an extra child no-one knows."

Jonathan

If your last name is Biden, don't do it.