When I was a kid I always went to my grandparents house whenever we celebrated any sort of holiday. We were a decently sized family and it was always a blessing to be in their house and surrounded by love during the holiday season. However, that all changed when my grandfather passed away and my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The family then began to drift apart and life went on, and we ended up all celebrating our own holidays with other family members.

When everyone else is talking about how their whole family is getting together for Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter I think back to when I was little, but my memories are very limited from those days. I cannot relate to my friends that come from big families or the ones who have traditions where they go to their families house. The simple fact is that my life and my family is not like that.

However, I do not envy them or wish that my life was different. I did have those kind of holidays when I was younger, and I did enjoy them, but honestly, I love the way we celebrate holidays now. Spending it with friends who invite our small family over to their house to celebrate with their families adds a little extra to our holiday season. We enjoy the fellowship and the love that we feel from these people even though they aren't technically our family.

We also respect the fact that they would like to celebrate with strictly their family, especially if they do not get to see each other very often, whether they be separated by distance or simply scheduling conflicts. The holidays are a time for people to come together and spend time with people they normally don't get to spend time with. We do the same, just a little different from everyone else. With college, work and social lives, I don't get to see my family a lot. It's a blessing to be able to spend time with just them because we are such a close knit family.

I am so thankful for my family and the amazing people that I have in my life. I am blessed to have the family and support system that I do. I know that no matter how small or how big, my family will always be here for me and I wouldn't trade my family holidays for anything at all.