It is November. That means the holidays (Thanksgiving, Birthday, Christmas, New Years) are RIGHT around the corner.
At age 12- 17 I always had mixed feelings about the holidays. I always love time with my family but when my parents divorced in 2000 there was extra emotions put into the family time. I now had to choose who I wanted to be with and no matter the choice one person always got the shorter end of the deal. So after that I really started to hate the holidays.
But then as I got older (18 - 21)I became more understanding of the situation as did my parents, but now there was a different pressure. Money. This time of the year became focused on spending money and hoping to find the perfect gift or receiving what you asked for, but what was really important was the time spent with the family, but that seems to get looked over with all the stress.
And now, as I am about to enter my 23rd year of life I have come upon a new problem but also an understanding. I live 350+ miles from my home. Now I don't have the convenience of just being there for the holidays. I have to wait to hear about my work schedule, I have to make sure I have a place to stay when I go back home (never really a problem but still something to think about), and it is not always guaranteed I will be home for them either. My birthday isn't a holiday but it has always been included because it is right after Thanksgiving. This is the first time I won't be able to see my family on my birthday. I guess that is part of growing up. Birthdays aren't special and it becomes just a number.
BUT, something I am looking forward to was an idea my mom proposed to her family. This year extra money for presents is hard to come by so we have decided that gifts should be home made or, if bought, not more than $10. She said that the important part is the time we spend together not what we get for each other. I love this and I already have a head start!
I am crocheting gifts for everyone this year! My goal is two things for each person and then for my mom, sister, and grandma I will actually buy them something extra. I still have a long way to go (I only have three things done) but I know what I am going to make for everyone and it should get done pretty quick. Something I had forgotten about, because I haven't done large amounts of crocheting in a long time, is the muscle I use constantly. I am not sure what the muscle is called but because of the motion of the hook I am feeling the crocheting in my arm! lol I will get used to it. I can't wait until after Christmas so I can post pictures!
I hope everyone remembers the importance of seeing your family because as you get older it becomes harder to see them. Appreciate them while you can.
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Yay for homemade gifts. One year my younger brother, sister-in-law and her husband, my husband and I were all sitting on the wrong side of BROKE and did handmade/labor intensive gifts. It was awesome. There was a lot of knitting on my part, but there were also clocks made out of Ford hubcaps, car detailing performed by my OCD brother, patio-building, frozen food gifting, and all sorts of good stuff. It was great!
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