I am at my mother's house. Because I am the single, childless one right? So I get the "it is much easier for you to come over here because you don't have ...." Fine. But I am not a big crowd person. In fact, throughout most of my childhood I would hide in my room for most Thanksgiving/Christmas gatherings. Understand, I love my family, but when they are all together under one roof, it is just too much for me to handle. I have never once left one of these gatherings without a major headache.
Now, my mother knows all of this. So what does she do? She tells my cousin that we will eat Christmas dinner at her house. Right. After we had it out that at 30 years old, she does not get to tell me we are having dinner there, she gets to ASK ME. Then, I ask her how many people are going to be there, and she says "just the immediate family." Fine, I think. I can do that for about two hours. But what my mother does not tell me is that "the immediate family" includes my cousin's lover's parents, siblings, kid, and friends. So the immediate family is over 30 people.
Right. Yep. I drive back to my apartment on the 26th. Serenity and calm, in the face of packing and downsizing.