Home is Where the Heart Is

I just got back from Thanksgiving break, and as cliche as it sounds, I must say that I wish break hadn’t flown by so fast. I’ve loved being at school and taking more steps to get me closer to the career I want, but sometimes I just really miss my family. I haven’t been home for more than three weeks all year, so I was grateful that I was able to spend time with a lot of family members over break.

However, I didn’t head straight home for break. Instead, I traveled through Boston, all the way up to Manchester, N.H. My mother’s entire side of the family, all of whom I’m really close with, live around Manchester and I always make a point to visit at least once a year. Thanksgiving break was my time to visit this year. I stayed at my Aunt Sue and Uncle Dave’s house throughout the week, but was lucky enough to see every family member.

Tuesday was just a day of traveling, so I didn’t do much more than hang out around the house. My friend, Kait, was awesome enough to offer me a ride from Oswego to Worcester, which is right outside of Boston. Then her parents became even more amazing and offered to drive me the whole way to Manchester so that I wouldn’t have to take a bus.

Wednesday became the special day between my Aunt Sue and I. Nicknamed her “special girl,” we hit the mall for some shopping, grabbed lunch and margaritas at Shorty’s, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, and went to the movies to see Love and Other Drugs. In case you were wondering, it’s a must-see movie.

I also had breakfast with my Grammy and caught up with my old friend, Nick, after the movie at Applebee’s. I’ve known him since we were little kids, but we often only see each other once a year and talk the rest of the time via Facebook or text messaging, so it was nice to catch up in person again.

Thursday was Thanksgiving! My uncles, aunts, baby cousin Devyn, Grammy and I went to Hart’s Turkey Farm, a restaurant famous for their turkey dinners. It was delicious! I followed my Surviving Thanksgiving Dinner guidelines too and ate rather healthy. Unfortunately, my family then surprised me with a birthday cake (apparently my birthday is a week-long celebration), which totally de-railed any healthy eating habits I had going. Not to mention I wasn’t expecting it at all, so my face turned about 10 shades of red.

I spent Friday with my cousin Joclyn, who shares a special bond with me because she’s exactly 10 years younger than me (Well, her birthday is the day before mine, but it’s close enough). I bought her a “Fight Like A Girl” T-shirt that Colleges Against Cancer was selling this year to benefit the American Cancer Society, and we both had black boots, so she loved the fact that we could dress up as twins for a day.

I headed over to my Aunt Carol’s on Saturday, where I got to have a second round of Thanksgiving dinner with her, her boyfriend Jim, my mom, step-dad, and my little brother, Scott. Once again, I followed my Survive Thanksgiving Dinner tips and ate a delicious yet healthy meal!

We also had family game night, and the girls kicked butt in Catchphrase for three rounds. I also won a round of Apples to Apples, but my Aunt Carol and Jim were able to claim a round, too. Scott put up a valiant effort each time, but was unable to clinch a title like he usually does.

I spent all of  Sunday traveling on a bus, which wasn’t fun because my phone decided to call it quits about two minutes after I boarded. Fortunately, I had my boyfriend’s phone number memorized and was able to get to a pay phone so he could pick me up safe and sound. And when I got back to Oswego, the view was definitely worth it.

How was your Thanksgiving break? Did you experience any memorable moments?