I have a reasonably large extended family on one side, who are all quite close with one another. I get on very well with them all but for several reasons they all socialise together and very often don’t include myself or members of my immediate family ( often see pictures on Facebook of them all out together).
It’s ok, we get together on big occasions like Christmas and everyone has a great time. There’s no big reason, it’s just the way it’s worked out (lots of little reasons really but it’s all just circumstances, nothing has caused it).
I’m now approaching a milestone birthday and was hoping to organise a big get together. Having invited many of them to celebrations or parties we have held in the past, my experience has been that most of them don’t come. They let me know well in advance that they can’t make it, but it just feels like if it was someone else organising it, they would make the effort.
I’ve suggested a date/place for the celebration on our family group chat, it’s been buried straight away in other chit chat and I had one vague response that just said they liked the venue, but not saying they could come.
They are my family and of course I love them but I just feel so left out at times! AIBU to expect a bit more? Or should I just accept that they don’t have to socialise with us just because we are family?