I was surprised at how well my family took it, so I hope you get together turns out the same. I had been most worried about how my grandparents would take it since they are from 'The Great Generation' and all that - they were the most understanding of all. It may turn out fine (except for all pity hugs - my pet peeve).

I had a similar situation, in that I moved to a different state to be with my stbx. A couple of years ago we went back to my home state to visit, and he met my mother and my friends and former co-workers; they all liked him and thought he was great.

Now that he's cheated on me and left me for her, I feel a lot like you do, just completely embarrassed. I haven't been back to visit again, but I've talked to people on the phone and through email.

It's hard, I feel like I totally misjudged him, and it makes me look and feel stupid.

But honestly, my mother took it a lot better than I thought she would. If you don't want to talk about it, you could always tell them that it's just too soon to talk about, and I think most people would respect that.

I'm sorry ... I know there's no good thing to say right now.

Hope your gathering goes well! This quote kept running through my mind while I was at my families on Thanksgiving ""Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."~~ Dr. Seuss Let your feelings show and you may be surprised by the amount of support you can gain from it... ;)