"Normal" Thanksgiving

Ever since Matt began his career, he's worked rotating shifts.  The schedule is a repeating six week pattern, but to me, it feels entirely random, like his boss draws shifts out of a hat. We've learned that our lives don't operate like the rest of society. Sometimes his weekends are in the middle of the work week. He works a lot of holidays. But Matt absolutely loves his job so we just deal with our adjusted version of "normal". Just as Saturdays and Sundays carry less emphasis, our holidays do too.  Neither of us has spent a major holiday with our families since college. We prefer to visit them during less hectic times of year and book cheaper flights, usually in the summertime. 

Our Thanksgiving Day began with a Turkey Trot.  Matt always makes sure he trades shifts or takes vacation time to get this race in. We assembled with all of our running club friends as they introduced us to their relatives visiting from out of town. They told us about the busy schedule they have for the rest of the day. We run and visit afterward. Everyone seemed relaxed yet frantic at the same time.

Back at home for the rest of the day, we leisurely cook a big meal and play many games of Bananagrams and Tetris until bedtime.

Our Black Friday was spent with friends at the Headwaters Trail.  All of us were sore from the race the day before, so we moved slowly and cherished the fact that we were able to coordinate our schedules.

We heard about their family dinners the previous day. I feel a momentary bubble of jealousy lift in my throat; I sometimes wish my family were more available in my daily life. This time of year, it feels like I'm being poked by an annoying little holiday elf that won't go away. "You chose to be alone. Who feels like crap now?" he says in his chipper sing-song voice.

I believe he looks like this. (source)

The holiday season is a daily reminder of the things we miss because we chose to prioritize Matt's career rather than location. It doesn't get much easier as the years pass, but I've learned that distracting myself with adventures such as this helps enormously.

A warm glow lifted in the sky, reflecting off the fog and steam as it melted the frost underfoot. Beneath the forest canopy, it was still mostly dark. We passed through warm, sunny pockets of trail and stagnant chilly ones. In the chilly air, my legs stung as they slowly went numb. Achy spots subsided. My favorite trail appeared reluctant to wake up this morning too.

Through the swirl of endorphins and sunshine of the parking lot, I took a deep breath. Okay, I'm better now. Living our lives differently than expected is nice. I've got my favorite Redwood trail and good friends to run with. Yes, that's enough.

Sunset Friday evening.

Anybody else have a weird schedule? Do you take vacation time to see family on the major holidays or do you visit other times of the year?

We probably would take some time off if we lived within a 10-12 hr drive of our families.  Since we have to travel through four airports to get to my family (three to Matt's) it significantly ups the chances of getting stranded somewhere en route. That would be even more upsetting than just staying home.