I’ve been struggling with the idea of not being home for Thanksgiving and a large part of the holiday season. It’s the first time I’ve lived more than an hour away from all the crazy that is my family. I’ve tried to just ignore the nagging feeling that my life is changing/has changed drastically, but little things kept forcing me to confront the change. My students had to write an essay about a ritual in their lives, and many of them chose to write about Thanksgiving or Christmas. They have also been very concerned how I will be spending my holidays. Several went so far as to invite me to celebrate with their families. Luckily, I have Joli here in town, so I wasn’t put in the awkward situation of politely declining their invite without an excuse. I like to keep boundaries up, and celebrating Thanksgiving with students is probably not the way to do that.
I had no idea when I was anticipating the holiday that Thanksgiving would turn out to be so amazing. I invited my cousin Nick to come and join myself in crashing Joli’s family Thanksgiving. I was truly surprised when he accepted. It’s a 7ish hour drive from his town in California to mine in Arizona. I was so happy to see anyone from home, but Nick and I have always been pretty close so it was amazing to have him around for a couple days. Nick came into town on Wednesday night, meaning he met some members of the MHS staff thanks to the fact we were still enjoying the beginning of the long weekend when he showed up. Since it was about 1am, we just went back to my house to sleep. On Thanksgiving, we started the day pretty lazy. Joli’s husband had to work until late that evening, so we had decided to celebrate on Friday. Nick and I went over to Joli’s that evening, she made us dinner, and we hung out for a few hours before splitting up for some black Friday shopping.
I have never gone black Friday shopping overnight before, and I probably never will again. It was insane. Nick and I shopped in Kohls for about 30 minutes before getting in line, only to stand in line for 90 minutes. After Kohls, we ventured to the mall, where there were much fewer people and shorter lines. Finally we went to Target around 4am and it was empty of people and of any decent sales. We made our way home with everything important crossed off our lists and a need for food and sleep. On Friday we woke up at around 1 in the afternoon, got ready, and went to Joli’s. Joli had everything under control, so we helped her drink the wine and play with the kids. Her Thanksgiving spread was absolutely amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much food in my life. I was so full, and it was wonderful. Afterwards I read stories with her kids, until they thought it’d be funny to jump on me, and then we all just relaxed and drank a little of Nick’s delicious ice wine!
On Saturday, Nick saw a commercial for Bass Pro Shop, so the next thing I know, we’re driving out to Mesa to check it out. Nick picked out a shot gun he wants, and I just enjoyed watching Nick turn into a kid again. Seriously, take a guy to a giant hunting/fishing/man store. It’s incredibly amusing. Add to that the fact there was a car show going on and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grille was next door, it was like man heaven. We went to Toby Keith’s that night. The food was amazing and the company was fun. We met Nick’s friend Kenny’s relatives for dinner and then stayed for the band. All I have to say about that is I love drunk country boys and I would really love to date a guy who could dance the two step. The only things that would have made the night better would be if Kristen had been feeling better and if they did more actual line dancing.
All around, it was as perfect as a weekend can be, since they always end. I now have 3 weeks before flying home for Christmas, and I can’t wait to see everyone!
Finding Direction 