It’s Christmas Time, Did You Get Your Update?

I don’t know about you, but every year I get an update from several members of my extended family.  They talk about their lives, their children’s lives, the travel they did and about their pets.

I get these every year and I think, “who cares?” I don’t want to sound harsh but do I really need to know their kid’s fifth tooth recently came out or that their dog just got a haircut?

Why do they do this?  Why do they send out these updates to a mailing list of people they barely have relationships with?  Is it that they are bragging or feel legitimately proud of the mundane things they do every day?

I get updates from distant relatives I have little or no relationship with and only read about their lives once a year at Christmas time.  Isn’t there something wrong with this picture?

Why aren’t they my friend on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social networking site? If they were, I would feel more of a connection and be happy about their daughter’s fifth tooth coming out or their dog getting a hair cut.