Not only is it the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also the time most people find themselves being cuffed.

Yes, boys and girls, it's cuffing season. For many, that means finding their seasonal bae to walk through pumpkin patches with, or drink hot cocoa by the fire, or kiss under the mistletoe. But for some, it ends all too soon, just as the holidays come to an end.

I was lucky enough to beat the start of cuffing season, by getting cuffed towards the end of the spring. At that time, it wasn't getting cuffed, it was getting into a relationship, which happened at a time that I thought I was going to be alone forever, as a form of karma.

Now that I have a boyfriend, Brandon, it will be my first holiday season with a significant other. When I was little, that meant spending every waking moment with that person, decorating Christmas trees, riding around in a horse-drawn carriage through a snowy forest, and kissing each other as the clock strikes 12 on New Year's Eve. Oh, how wrong was I.

Brandon and I have been trying to plan our holidays together since October. He hails from Winter Park, a good four hour drive from my hometown, Miami. Well, apparently, it's hard to defy the law of physics and be in two places at once for the holidays.

My family is split, so I used to live with my mom and stepdad, and visit my dad and stepmom on the weekends. For the holidays, it would switch off as to whose house I would be at for whatever holiday. I usually spent Christmas Eve (Noche Buena, which means "The Good Night") with my mom's side, then Christmas morning I'd open presents with her, go to mass, and then rush to my father's house to open presents with my little brother. My boyfriend's family is also split, so he's known the struggle of racing to one parent's house with his brother to open presents and spend some time with them for the holidays.

Now, as "grown-ups", we have to decide how to spend the holidays with four families, in two different cities, while also abiding by our work schedules. Brandon has only been given eight days off for the entire holiday season, none of which match up with what we had planned for the holidays. We have to plan to spend time in Winter Park with his mother and father, respectively, then drive to Miami to spend time with my mom and dad, just the same. Meanwhile, we'd be traveling with a car full of presents for each other and our families.

I've begun to wonder how couples who are from different cities, sometimes different states, manage to spend the holidays together. It must be a lot of compromise. Although Brandon and I are rather good at that, we're still trying to figure out how we can spend equal time with the multiple parties while still enjoying time with each other.

I've never had a serious boyfriend for such an important time of year, and it seems that planning any kind of time together and with family is going to be quite the challenge. I applaud those that have figured out a way to see family and their significant other over the holidays. I wish their wisdom and planning skills would rub off on me.

Even though this is all very stressful and rather exhausting, I couldn't have asked for a more special person to share this time with. The holidays are a time to reflect upon all that you have, and all that you are blessed with, and I am blessed with Brandon. I'm sure our holiday season will turn out just right.