Photo by Channey on Unsplash

Dropping Out

We flew out from San Jose to Chicago a couple of days before Thanksgiving to see my family. The flight was uneventful (always a good thing) and the airport already bananas. I can’t imagine what one more day would have done to the lines, the baggage, and the chaos-like feeling.

We were picked up by my sister-in-law and three of the four kids. Little mini-me’s with big eyes and even bigger hugs. We all should be greeted by such a welcome wagon. I loved it a ten. I turned around to hug the littlest one and he handed me a note he had made himself. All folded up tight it reminded me of the second grade notes I used to pass three desks over to my bff. I pulled it open and looked at his penmanship painstakingly printed out, wishing me a “Happy Thanksweekend.” I couldn’t love the kid more.

I remember in my 20s when Thanksgiving Eve was the biggest go out night of the year. It still is, just not for me. Now it’s about all-day pajamas and watching action movies with whoever is awake to watch. It’s about warming up leftovers and raiding the outside fridge for the pumpkin pie that’s still hiding out.

We’ve barely picked up our phones and half the time I don’t know where I’ve left mine. Instead of Instagram, I’m reaching for my fourth Vitamin C gummy to keep the flu at bay that I’m sure half the people on the plane are currently suffering from. It’s dark at 4:30 and I can hear an HGTV marathon going on with some DIY fix it show it show on repeat.

For many of us, the holidays are about dropping out. And I’m all for it. We all need a well-deserved reset. I hope you’ve spent your weekend doing your own version of the same. Not so you can hustle your way into Monday. But so you can revel in the breathing room you’ve created for yourself and enter December with some ease.