Giving Thanks

This long weekend has been a whirlwind of family, friends, potlucks, foods, and fun. I can't believe I considered not coming home for Thanksgiving. Not being in the area, I just don't feel quite as connected to everybody as I used to be.

Wed:
I got home around 12:30am and my parents stayed up until 2am to talk to me! Even though, sometimes, my parents are night owls, I was still touched that they missed me and wanted to talk to me enough to give up so much sleep.

Thu:
After waking up at an ungodly hour (due to the time difference), I continued to talk to my parents extensively. Maybe we don't agree on everything (let's face it, we don't), but I'm excited that we're at the point where at least we can talk about everything. I'm at the age now when I don't really have to ask to make a choice, but I would still rather my parents approve or at least support whatever I choose to do. And, even if I hate admitting it, sometimes they make a good point.

Still Thu:
We gather together with my family friends for all major holidays and some birthdays (we used to do "surprise" sweet sixteen birthday parties, complete with wands and capes.... nevermind). It was nice to see everybody and hear what they're up to. I'm sort of glad I didn't talk to the adults quite as much this time, just being everything is so up in the air/controversial/undecided.

Fri:
I had lots of high school friends over for non-lunch food, and we still had a ton left over. I went to the farmer's market at Vallco in the morning to stock up on some fruit, and then I checked out the new Trader Joe's to finish up my shopping. I love catching up with these friends because I don't get to see the much, and it's so interesting to see what everybody is doing. There's still a pretty healthy range of things that folks are doing: some are working, in school, figuring it out, living with boyfriends, living at home, etc.

Fri Evening:
We had dinner with family friends from high school. Sort of. All the kids are younger than me, but we had a lively discussion with the parents and the kids (now that we're all old enough to participate). I love that I can talk to the parents now and have a conversation. One more than "how's school?"

Sat:
Shopped briefly with a good friend from high school. Bought some of the items on my Christmas gift list, but I'll have to keep working on that. We had more people over for dinner and had fun playing with the kids (ages 8 and 10). They left early to get the kids to sleep, and then we embarked on a loud conversation about my dad, my dad's family, and other people we knew. We don't get rambunctious that often, but this was definitely one of those times. Everybody talked louder, but had a blast. I'm excited to have those more with my family.

Sun:
I'm starting to pack up before eating two lunches before going to the airport. It'll be nice to get back and settle in. It will probably not be nice to work tomorrow. Back to the real life!