Home For The Holidays

Every year around this time, I begin preparing for the long car trip down the interstate to visit the family. This is always a time of mixed emotions for me, as I'm sure many of you out there in Web land can relate to. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, at least my core family. Some of the extended members I could do without. But visiting mom at this stage of my life is always a little awkward. There is the usual flood of questions about my life when I get there, even though we talk on the phone once a week. It's not like we haven't gone over all of this multiple times already.

And then there is my lifestyle. Many moons ago, she used to work the late shift in a factory, so you would think she would understand why I keep late hours. Nope. It's been too many years, and she has forgotten what it's like. And when she was working that shift, she was married and raising babies, so there wasn't a real need to stay up late, unless me or my brother were crying through the night. She still expects me to be "home" at a decent hour and check in with her when I'm there. Well, I'm sorry, but I just don't do that. I do my best to not stay out too late when I visit, but if my evening doesn't happen to be over until 2am or so, well, that's just the way it is. I will tiptoe when I come in so I don't wake her, but she won't get an apology from me for being out "so late".

And then I am sure my brother will need me to work on his computer yet again. I don't really mind, since he is my brother, but just once I would love to go visit without having to do any work. I mean, I am usually taking a vacation day or two to spend with them, it would be nice to actually be ON vacation once in a while and not have to WORK. Isn't that the point of a vacation? And it never fails, that the stuff I have to fix is always the exact same stuff I fixed the last time I was there, and showed him multiple times how to fix it himself. Sure, I know that there are always new viruses and malware out there (see the post on Spyware), but most of this could be taken care of if he would keep up to date on the program updates, and watch closely where he is going on the web. If he notices that after going to a particular site, he gets hit with spyware...DON'T GO BACK THERE.

Really, I do care about my family deeply. They aren't perfect, but neither am I. You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family. And if I have to be stuck with a group of people for the rest of my life, there are a lot worse out there that I could have been saddled with.

That long drive however is the part I really can't stand. I-95 and I-85 are some of the most boring stretches of highway man has ever laid down. Large expanses of pine trees, and very few towns along the way to even take a peek at as you whiz by. There are a couple of places for limited eye candy, such as Lake Gaston and Falls Lake in North Carolina, and the big peach water tower in Gafney. But it's sad to have to name a damn water tower as a scenic highlight of a trip, isn't it?

Add to that it looks like it's going to be raining the whole time, and no one knows how to drive in the rain. Then, mix in all the people who will be on the road who don't normally drive anyway, and it will be just a freaking joy to navigate this trip. It might not be quite so bad if someone were going with me, just to talk to, sing along with, help pass the time, whatever. But for the past several years, I've been flying solo. It makes things pretty monotonous, and I never look forward to the trip.

The brief glimmering image I try to keep in my head is that great spread of food that will await me on Turkey Day. This is a great holiday. No presents to buy, no fancy decorations to put up, great food, football all day, and no where you have to be by a certain time, at least not too early. And my favorite, a ton of leftovers to take home with me so I don't have to cook for a week. My brother and I will be breaking out the big aluminum pot and deep frying a turkey. We started doing this about 3 or 4 years ago. Mom will still cook her turkey the conventional way. Sometimes I think we are stupid, cooking 2 turkeys for only 4 people. But you know something? It never goes to waste.

And finally all in all, I have a lot to be thankful for. Think back to the founding fathers of this country and their first Thanksgiving. They would have had to kill a wild turkey and pluck it by hand, have whatever veggies they grew in the garden, with some corn meal mash. Bread would have been a luxury. And for dessert, berries and pumpkin pudding. Nope, no pies back then. Refined sugar wasn't widely available until the 1800s. I am thankful that we have brave young men and women defending our freedoms and trying to help establish freedoms for others around the world. I am thankful for all the little luxuries I have, like electricity, a reliable car that I can make this trip, good friends and family, and warm water to shower in every day. My one wish for everyone this year, is for all of you to have a safe and happy feast of thanks. And for once, let's all try to get through just one day without complaining about anything, and truly cherish this holiday.

~peace