Freshment at Large - Stephanie

This Thanksgiving was my first as a college student. I expected it to be like any other. I would come home, my mom and I would make pies and casseroles, and then on Wednesday, we’d pack up and go to my grandparents’ house. However, the minor detail that I was no longer living at home made all the difference in the world.
I had imagined walking into our living room wearing a sweater with pearls, breathing in the sweet autumn aroma from the Glade “cinnamon spice” air fresheners with a smile on my face that said, “I love my life.” Not so. Traffic was ridiculous coming back. I had to take off my new sweater due to the burning rays of light coming through my sunroof, windows and windshield. By the time I got home, I didn’t care about the spirit of fall or baking fall food in the kitchen, and my face definitely did not show signs of loving life.
My mom then informed me that I would no longer need to make my ever-so-famous pineapple ham casserole because I’m the only one who likes it. I did notice that every Thanksgiving I made it there were plenty of leftovers for me, but that was OK, because I ate a portion about every 30 minutes, so it lasted me a good week. Oh well. I’ll make it for Christmas.
We arrived at my grandparents’ house the next day, and I was anxious to begin the traditional family events, including cousin Monopoly games and pillow fights. However, my brother was spending Thanksgiving with his wife’s family, and one of my cousins is out of state, so that left me, my little brother and one cousin, who didn’t come until late that night.
I was always the little one, asking the others if I could watch them play Nintendo, and now I was the oldest. This is also the first year that my grandpa isn’t living at home. He came to eat with us, but after Thanksgiving, he went back to the nursing home. We weren’t even able to watch the A&M game on Friday together. Being away at college had made me reminisce, but things had changed. I looked around and realized that I was growing up, and that things were never going to be the same. I couldn’t be the little kid anymore, who only cares about eating cranberry sauce and sweet potato casserole. I can’t just sit back; I need to stand up so that when things start to change and our family begins to be pulled apart, I can pull with the others to bring us even closer together.