A Matrilineal Family

Although like most of the people in our class I felt as though my family came somewhere in the middle on the scale from patrilineal to matrilineal, I think that we are probably closer to being matrilineal. When my parents moved away from my grandparents' houses, they both ended up the same distance away from them. However, the relationship between my mom and her mom was incredibly closer than that of my father and his parents. For a while, my grandmother lived with us, and no matter how far away or close to her children she was, she was actively involved in their lives. I think all of her grandchildren sought her approval of things, and what she said was incredibly influential.

In my parents household, my mother usually has the last word on everything. When we wanted to do something growing up, my mom had the final decision on what we did. She doesn't make decisions without my father, but usually discussions over anything end with them both agreeing on what she originally thought. In regards of punishment, she is definently the one we respond to. My dad will yell at us if we break any rules or expectations, but he has an incredibly cheerful disposition at home, so it is very easy to get him laughing instead of yelling. My mom, on the other hand, is more frightening when she has been crossed and we know not to back talk to her because her punishments will not be taken lightly. This probably has something to do with the fact that while my dad is naturally a loud person, my mother is more soft spoken in general. So when she gets angry everyone knows she is serious. Even so, my dad still will make claims that he is the boss of the family, and my mom will laugh along with everyone else.