At four in the afternoon, opening the family group chat brings work to a halt
This story is for anyone who has stopped what they were doing after reading a message in the family group chat.
Scenes
- Opening the family group chat brings work to a halt — You stop what you’re doing and spend the afternoon choosing how to answer one message from your family.
- I can’t tell if it’s a request or hurt feelings — When the suggestion to decide about this Saturday is followed by hurt feelings about always being the one who does everything, you don’t know what to answer first.
- The question of who will make the reservation gets longer — At four in the afternoon, you read a message asking who will handle the reservation, then remember the hurtful words from last time and erase your reply.
- Two things are packed into one sentence — In family conflicts, when what needs deciding now gets mixed with old hurt feelings, you stop while trying to resolve both at once.
- Try answering only what needs deciding first — In your reply, write only who will handle this Saturday’s reservation. If you set the hurt feelings aside, they’ll have their own place to be discussed.
- Even if the reply is late, the issues can be separated — It’s okay if the family’s words don’t get sorted out right away. When you first look at who brought up what, a place for the next words slowly begins to appear.
Stories by Cheongun
- Cheongun
- When I step out after washing and stand before the mirror, the comparisons in my family come back to me.
- After the meeting, the plans and the spur-of-the-moment ideas clash again.
- When we get home from work, the first thing we talk about at the door is caring for our parents.
- As we left the exam room, Mom asked first.
- We put off the decision again while doing the dishes
- I set aside money for my younger sibling from my first paycheck
- It’s hard to tell my parents I’m getting counseling.
- I gave them flowers, but they didn’t say thank you