The holidays are a time we all look forward to. For college students, this means going home from school for a little bit of relaxation from living in the library for the past couple of months. I know after being in Morgantown for several months, I'm beyond ready to get out of here for awhile.
Whether it is a week for Thanksgiving or basically a month for Christmas, it really is a fix we all need after dealing with the stress of school. While being home from school is great, the actual holiday is even better! Getting to see extended family and eating hoards of food -- what could be better? But then it comes to the technicalities. Who are you spending the holiday with -- Mom or Dad?
Don't get me wrong -- my parents being divorced is great for our family. But trying to make everyone happy during the holiday's is extremely difficult. It seems like no matter what you end up doing someone gets let down, which is the opposite of feeling the holiday spirit. I want to be able to see all of my family on the same day, but without having to go through an awkward joint holiday with your divorced parents. It's supposed to be a time when your family is together, but it's difficult to be with your family when your family is split up.
Of course, you want to see all of your family on a few of the greatest days of the year. Your grandparents, your uncles and aunts, and your cousins -- this idea never works nearly as well as you want it to, though. Therefore, you have to split up your days and end up having two Thanksgivings or two Christmas's. When this happens, all I can think about on the day of when I'm supposed to be having a good time is that you're letting the other parent down by not being with them on this day.
Because of this, I have learned how to eat an extreme amount of food on Thanksgiving. When you have up to four Thanksgiving meals to go to one day, it makes you never want to eat turkey ever again. My sister and I have learned the perfect amounts of food you have to eat. This is why you have to learn to proportion well, so you can have a nice meal with every bit of family you are supposed to eat with that day,
As my sister says, "this is why St. Patrick's day is the best holiday -- you don't owe anything to anyone except alcohol."
