Thanksgiving break is something I look forward to every single year. It comes at the perfect time in the fall semester of just when I can feel myself becoming burnt out in between mid-term exams and final exams. As much as I cannot wait to go home, rest, and spend some quality time with my family, the day of Thanksgiving itself is one of the most stressful days of my entire year, right behind Christmas.
My mom and dad are divorced and have been since I was about three years old. Now that I’ve been used to it for some time and definitely have a good understanding of what it all entails, I don’t just get one Thanksgiving meal with my family around the dinner table every year. I have to spend time with both my dad and my mom and their families…and of course, they don’t live together because of the divorce. Because of this, I gotta travel. Typically, we have a Thanksgiving lunch with my mom’s family at my grandmother’s house, which is 30 minutes from where we live, so that’s already a decent trip. After lunch, I have to take my younger sister to our dad’s house in time for dinner with his humongous family (my dad, stepmom, 3 half-siblings, 2 aunts, 4 cousins, 3 uncles, 1 grandmother, and many friends).
Having to rush to get ready in the morning, travel half an hour to my grandmother’s house for lunch, beat lunch-dinner rush traffic for our 45-minute trip to our dad’s house, and keep up the energy and spirits of the holiday is quite exhausting, to say the least. However, I’m very grateful to be able to spend it with so many people equally despite my parents’ divorce. It’s something that took a while to comprehend and get used to, but it’s also something I’m fortunate enough to have every year. I’ve learned to make the most of it with a smile on my face no matter what.