Thanks for the memories by fall out boy. Although, it technically is spelt 'thnks fr th mmrs', I couldn't bring myself to seriously type that. In fact, I had to force my fingers to type that. That bothers me. The inability to take the time to type words. That is the falling off point of correct spelling and good grammar. Not only that, the computer age has diminished the ability of students. I was doing an interview a few weeks back and one of the questions I ask was tell me a time when you lacked a skill you needed to accomplish something. And, no shit, the kid said 'I had to hand write an essay for English class.' I wanted to slap him. Just tell him to get up and leave. I don't want to hire you. And then I thought about it for a bit. And then wanted to slap the teacher. Honestly. I fear having kids some day for the sole fact that they may give an answer like that.
Anyway...
I have a co-worker who is moving soon. Her man got a regional manager job in Illinois. So he is there and she is still working here until their kids are done with school, then the rest are moving up there. So her time here in the ICT is almost up. We were in the office the other day just sitting around, like we do, and she asked me how do I deal with not being around family during the holidays. Now, granted, she has a family, but she was talking extended family. So we talked about that for a good ten to fifteen minutes. Now maybe she brought it up because it was on her mind (which it probably was), but also everyone I work with knows I'm a transplant. So that may be why she brought it up. At any rate, it was actually a real depressing conversation, but something that she really wanted to talk about, and hopefully what she wanted or needed to hear. The end result is this:
The first couple of holidays (which for her will be Thanksgiving, and then Christmas) are the hardest ones. If you are use to going somewhere and seeing a bunch of family members, going from that to just a family at a table is wicked hard. The first year I was down here, it was just A and I. Talk about sad. It was just...there. Nothing special. Now, we have K and M, and they come over after they go see their families if they have time, and it feels better. Just having it feel like it is something other than just another dinner. Either that or A's family is down here (which is the way it was this past year, which was great). But yeah, getting past that first one is major. The rest, they just follow. And the job that my co-worker and I have is one that doesn't let you get away if you live far away (and I'm talking out of state) from family.
The other end result of this conversation was that family always comes first, above all else. Immediate family before everything else. For her, it was her man getting that job in Illinois. Sure, she didn't want to move, and he may not have wanted to move either. Dude, it's Illinois. If all you know is Kansas, Illinois is a huge change. But to better your lives, sometimes you have to make a move like that. For me, it was moving down here. You got to go where the money is, and where it is being made. If that means moving out to Kansas, you gotta do it. As hard as it is to say that, it's the truth. The money winning job is down here. I would love to still be living in Michigan and be able to watch my nephew and niece grow up, but that isn't in the cards. I can't remember the last time I saw my grandparents. It has been maybe two years. And with the kind of family I have, one that is real close, that is something that is difficult to deal with at times. Now, we have been here for over three years, and we have our friends and our jobs and have started our lives down here.
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