Who ARE These People?

Fat Bastard notes: "I was at Wal-Mart buying a last-minute birthday card for another of my in-laws I don't really care about ($3.75 plus postage for this dork!) and I wondered how I got into this ever-widening gyre of family/guilt/distaste. Oh yeah, it was part of the "civilizing" process I went through after I got hitched. This guy confirms I am not alone:

"Ignoring my family of origin was one of the great perks of my single days. I had a couple of years of peace in between leaving home and getting married. When, for whatever reason, I wanted to see or speak to my relatives, I did so. And when I didn't (which was most of the time), I didn't...When I first met my wife, she had pretty much the same relationship with her own family. And that worked out just great. And then we got married. Somehow, after we were married, my wife decided that if I wasn't in contact with my parents or siblings, it was a reflection on her. And so I had to let that annoying bunch back into my life..."