Thanksgiving Plans

In my entire college experience, I have not yet gone home to Maryland for Thanksgiving. My first year I stayed in Boston and had dinner with my aunts and uncle. My brother also came up to celebrate with us. My sophomore year I went to Florida to visit my dad's side of the family. That Thanksgiving was interesting because when I left Boston it was snowing and when I arrived in Florida it was 80 degrees. We had dinner outside on the patio next to the pool. Not quite a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Last year the semester ended so early that it seemed silly to go home for Thanksgiving and then come back a week later for winter break. So I went to Vermont with my aunt, uncle and his family. My uncle's dad used to be the executive chef for the Blair House (which is where international guests of the White House stay when they are on official visits to DC). He made us dinner which was absolutely incredible! It was very quaint-- we stayed in a friend's log cabin on a mountain with only a few surrounding houses and a general store down the street. We got to sit in the hot-tub while it was snowing outside around us. So amazing.

This is the first year that I am going to Maryland to have Thanksgiving dinner in my own house. It is going to be kind of strange though because my flight schedule is really weird this year. It was going to cost over $300 to bring me home from Wednesday through Sunday. So I am flying home Thursday morning (arriving around noon) and then flying back on Saturday morning at the crack of dawn. I suppose it will be nice to miss the crowds and the chaos that is Thanksgiving travel, but I feel really strange about flying home by myself on Thanksgiving. I always fly by myself-- at least 5 times a year I am on a plane alone. It is weird to me when I actually do travel with people. But it seems like it is going to be so lonely on Thanksgiving morning! I know that a lot of people travel on Thanksgiving day, but generally they have family or friends with them. I can't have mom's traditional homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, I won't be able to watch the parade, and I will be all by myself :(

But at least I should be thankful for the fact that I am blessed with a family who I love so much that I can go home to on the holidays. A lot of people don't have that. Maybe the travelling situation is not ideal, but I will be fine because I have so many things to be grateful for!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!