When I was 13, my friends asked me if it was fun getting to have two Christmas's. At 13, my immediate response was yes, because what kid doesn't enjoy opening up two sets of presents, getting double the holiday food, and having twice as much fun?
When I was 14 my mom asked me how I felt about traveling so much for the holiday. I smiled and told her that I enjoyed getting to see all of my family. Honestly, I was annoyed that during the holidays I tend to spend more time in a car than actually hanging with family, but I didn't want my mom to know that.
When I was 16 my dad asked me to write a Christmas list and to number my items from 1-10. 1 being the most important gift, 10 being the least. That year I asked for a new iPhone and for my family to be together again. I numbered my family together with a 1, sadly that gift couldn't be fulfilled.
Now, I am 18 and each holiday I spend time reminiscing on how things used to be before my parents were divorced. Holidays are different now, but that's just part of the new lifestyle. We get used to the hours spent in a car. We know how to proportion the amount of food we intake because we have to eat multiple different meals. Most importantly now though, we know not to take for granted the time spent together as a family.
