I'll be nowhere for Christmas...
So, I have to vent somewhere about a huge dilemma that I've been having since Thanksgiving. And since I haven't posted here in an eon, it seems like a decent place to do so.
The background info on this situation is as follows: Nicki's family is in Kansas City. Mine is in Connecticut. We are in Georgia. KC is a 12 hour drive, Connecticut is 17. KC to CT is 21 hours. Thus, a round trip to all three places is 51 hours.... if you never had to sleep, pee or fill up on gas.
Also of note is that Nicki and I have been together for over 3 years now. We've been engaged for two years of that and have been living together in Atlanta for about a year and a half. It was agreed a while ago that we would 'switch-off' on holidays. Meaning Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will spend Thanksgiving with one set of family, and spend Christmas with the other. And the next year, it's the opposite. Last year, I did not go anywhere for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, as I was still new to my job and attempting to catch up on bills that had accumulated during two months of unemployment.
This year, I was able to foot the $350 for a plane ticket to Connecticut to spend Thanksgiving with my family. This was pretty last minute, and Nicki didn't come with me. My parents did not mention to me before hand that they wanted me to come for Christmas as well. This was discussed over Thanksgiving dinner and, not wanting to start a fight on a holiday (sue me), I said I'd "think about it". The next day, however, it came up again while going Black Friday shopping and it pretty much blew up in my face. There was a huge argument with my parents, but they appeared to be okay with the idea that I'd be in KC for Xmas this year.
Apparently, this is not the case.
I do not have the money to pay for a flight to either KC or CT this year, but my new car gets great gas mileage, and I thought I'd take advantage. I have to work for Scrooge on Christmas Eve, but should be able to get out by noon. This would mean that I could arrive in KC somewhere in the vicinity of 1 AM on Christmas, if all goes well. Long drive, but $85 round trip to drive sure beats a $350 plane ticket. Plus, I figured that I would be able to spend a portion of Christmas with my grandma, who would otherwise be alone for the day and I could show her my appreciation for loaning me a large sum of money for which to buy said brand new car.
This apparently makes me the most selfish, worthless human being in the world. I received an email from my father this afternoon after telling my mom on the phone about my plans to drive to KC. It read simply: "You really are great at crushing your mother's spirits."
At this point, I have no desire to go anywhere for Christmas. I will spend it here in this apartment with my two cats. If I can't make everyone happy, then no one will be happy. I refuse to be fought over, guilt tripped into doing something, or anything else of the like.
It just really sucks that I have to make a choice like this. I really don't know what to do, but I wish it were an easier choice.
The background info on this situation is as follows: Nicki's family is in Kansas City. Mine is in Connecticut. We are in Georgia. KC is a 12 hour drive, Connecticut is 17. KC to CT is 21 hours. Thus, a round trip to all three places is 51 hours.... if you never had to sleep, pee or fill up on gas.
Also of note is that Nicki and I have been together for over 3 years now. We've been engaged for two years of that and have been living together in Atlanta for about a year and a half. It was agreed a while ago that we would 'switch-off' on holidays. Meaning Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will spend Thanksgiving with one set of family, and spend Christmas with the other. And the next year, it's the opposite. Last year, I did not go anywhere for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, as I was still new to my job and attempting to catch up on bills that had accumulated during two months of unemployment.
This year, I was able to foot the $350 for a plane ticket to Connecticut to spend Thanksgiving with my family. This was pretty last minute, and Nicki didn't come with me. My parents did not mention to me before hand that they wanted me to come for Christmas as well. This was discussed over Thanksgiving dinner and, not wanting to start a fight on a holiday (sue me), I said I'd "think about it". The next day, however, it came up again while going Black Friday shopping and it pretty much blew up in my face. There was a huge argument with my parents, but they appeared to be okay with the idea that I'd be in KC for Xmas this year.
Apparently, this is not the case.
I do not have the money to pay for a flight to either KC or CT this year, but my new car gets great gas mileage, and I thought I'd take advantage. I have to work for Scrooge on Christmas Eve, but should be able to get out by noon. This would mean that I could arrive in KC somewhere in the vicinity of 1 AM on Christmas, if all goes well. Long drive, but $85 round trip to drive sure beats a $350 plane ticket. Plus, I figured that I would be able to spend a portion of Christmas with my grandma, who would otherwise be alone for the day and I could show her my appreciation for loaning me a large sum of money for which to buy said brand new car.
This apparently makes me the most selfish, worthless human being in the world. I received an email from my father this afternoon after telling my mom on the phone about my plans to drive to KC. It read simply: "You really are great at crushing your mother's spirits."
At this point, I have no desire to go anywhere for Christmas. I will spend it here in this apartment with my two cats. If I can't make everyone happy, then no one will be happy. I refuse to be fought over, guilt tripped into doing something, or anything else of the like.
It just really sucks that I have to make a choice like this. I really don't know what to do, but I wish it were an easier choice.