Boxing Day

So EVERY time Kevin and I visit, Kevin's family loves going on big walks. Big walks with lots of hills, muddy fields and done at a brisk pace.  No not brisk, maybe more like power-walking pace.  Oh, and these walks usually last a couple of hours, with some even being almost a whole day thing. I am not a walker, I am not a fast walker, I don't like walking up hills just for the heck of it.  I've mentioned the pain that comes everytime I walk somewhere in England (even when I walk slow).  Kevin's family knows about this.  They have to know that I'm in physical pain when we go on these walks at their million-miles-a-minute walks. Pain that can bring on tears with every step. Yet every time the five of us set out for a walk this is what happens: Mum and SIL walk at their normal speed steadily increasing the space between us with each step. Kevin stays behind with me and walks at my pace, missing the time to spend and chat with his family. Dad varies in location from waiting for me to catch up, leading the walk (cause he's got the guide book) or falling behind because this portion of the walk "creases" him (his words). So if you can't tell, I don't really like these family walks. Before we went to bed on Christmas day, Mum announces that she wants to go for a walk tomorrow.  Great! So as Kevin and I were settling down for bed I told him that I wasn't going to go. I listed my reasons very clearly and said I would rather go into the village and do a bit of shopping, spending some time alone and giving Kevin time with his family without his having to worry about me. Very clear, very unemotional (I thought) and figured that was that.  Well, while I was in the shower getting ready for the day, Kevin announces to Mum that he doesn't want to go on a very long walk, nor does he want to go on any muddy walks (he didn't bring his hiking boots) and that he wants to go on a walk that isn't so strenous that they end up leaving me behind. This is not what I said! Of course Mum had already decided which walk we would go on and so this absolutely flustered her(Her and Kevin don't deal well with sudden changes to laid out plans). She goes on and on about how he didn't say anything they night before about any of his "requirements." I am in the dining room at this point, eating breakfast when they (Mum and Kevin) start arguing about where they're going.  Mum disappears for a bit and then comes back with Dad and rehashes the same argument with Kevin which upsets Kevin to the point that he storms out of the room.  Then Mum starts in on Dad about how he didn't back her up and that instead of telling her to just drop it - He did several times try to get her past the issue of Kevin's sudden requirements to actually pick a new walk - he should have gotten angry with Kevin because Kevin was being difficult and shouting at her. Well then Dad gets annoyed at Mum and he walks out of the room.  Then it's just me and Mum sitting there and she starts talking to me, wanting me to say that Kevin was wrong and that he shouldn't have sprung these sudden requirements. What am I suppose to do? Anyways we ended up going on a very boring walk along a field next to a motorway. Mum was very deliberate in her attempts to stay at the back of the group and go slow, so I'm pretty sure Kevin said something about them walking too fast. Ugh! The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, including some fun after dinner making balloon animals.