Reunions and family gatherings are a special case. Unless you already know the people or are directly related to them, there’s just no benefit from attending. That means your spouse and your children are or were bored. They went out of an obligation to support you, but as things drag on, they get bored. Which would have been better - that they spent their time on a smart phone, or that they “escaped”… There is no “way back machine” you cannot change the past. But in the future try to remember that reunions, at best, are only interesting to the people with past connections that want to renew those connections. While your spouse or children might have been something you wanted to show off, it was not very enjoyable for them. So don’t be so quick to commit them to things they won’t enjoy. Sometimes it’s a “must attend” situation and you all just have to make the best of it.

If you knew how boring your family is, why did you subject your kids and husband to them? The "misery loves company" bullshit?

This takes me back to when my mom decided we were all Mormon now.

Forced family gatherings and reunions are the worst especially if they're not close and familiar, or even worse if you see them often. Both ways it is toxic to force attendance on gatherings just because blood, family, I birthed you. I was forced to attend birthdays, and reunions, and make family priority. That's until I started leaving my own birthdays, if my parents wanted to they could have parties. I'm now grown, and you couldn't pay me to attend weddings, births and birthdays, anniversaries or reunions, not even funerals. This includes.my own, I don't celebrate anniversaries, or.birthdays, damn it my graduation was celebrated without my attendance, these days I don't share anything that can raise a forced gathering, party or celebration. People should attend because they want to see and socialise with those people regardless who they are, not because someone said so. This is how you create hatred towards it and get escaping children and husband.