Thanksgiving Break!

Its almost Thanksgiving, and I am dying to go home. Dying! Thankfully, we will be headed to Atlanta in two days time! This year is extra special, as my Gran will be here. Super Gran is awesome… she will be 80 in February, and still makes the Trans-Atlantic trip a couple of times a year! She has always asked us about our Christmas trees, etc. but is a creature of habit and does not like to be away from home during the holidays. This is understandable, as only one of her children (two if you count dad) and three of her grandchildren (well, now five if you count Jordan and Pam) live in the US. A couple of years ago, I started bugging her about coming out in November. She could come for Thanksgiving (clearly not something we celebrate in the UK), spend mum and Craig’s birthdays with them (November 21 and 28, respectively), and we would even put up our trees early for her to see them. Well last year, it worked! It was particularly nice that last year was a “Cormack Thanksgiving Year” for us; we got to celebrate Gran’s first Thanksgiving with her! This year is a “Patton Thanksgiving Year.” BUT my sweet dad (and mum, of course) decided to fly us down for the break!

We are going to have such a busy time and will be spending lots of time with both families. We will leave Pittsburgh Tuesday evening (we do not have classes on Wednesday) and mum (and probably Gran, who arrives in Atlanta tomorrow) will pick us up from the airport. We will spend Tuesday evening and Wednesday with my family. I missed mum’s birthday (yesterday), but I hope we can go to dinner to celebrate her birthday with her. Wednesday, we will probably go shopping for bridesmaid’s dresses. Pam, Craig’s (my brother) sweet fiancé, has decided that she would pick a colour swatch from David’s Bridal and let each of her bridesmaids select their own dress (stipulations being colour and length). So, we thought it would be fun if we could all go dress shopping together while Gran is here! Hopefully, Pam and Bronda will be able to come with us… I want Pam to have “right of refusal” on each dress.

Later on Wednesday, we will head out to Covington to see Jordan’s family. I am not sure what time, as Jordan and I are pretty impatient when it comes to traffic, and you KNOW what Thanksgiving eve traffic is like. My assumption is that we will wait until about 8pm to make the drive to Covington in order to avoid the traffic. We will spend Thanksgiving Day at the Patton’s and I think everyone will be there (at least at some point – Kristen and James arrive at lunchtime). We will stay in Covington until Jordan wakes up on Friday (or early afternoon, if Jordan wakes up early).

Friday, I am trying to get time with my sweet friend Kristin. One of my best friends from college, she is now working for the Department of State in DC! It seems like we only manage to get together when we are both in Atlanta, but that is okay… we do try and pretty frequently get to talk. What is nice about our friendship is that despite the fact that we are both so busy, and often go weeks (or even months last time!) without getting to talk, we always pick up right where we left off. I am hoping that she will be bringing her puppy (Gus) home with her and we can go for a “play date” with Gus and Bailey at the dog park! Kristin was also one of my few friends to make it to Aberdeen for my wedding. My Gran LOVES here (as well as all my other friends that she met at the wedding)… it would be such a treat if Gran could see Kristin too! If this doesn’t work out, we will at least both be in town for part of Christmas Break.

The rest of Friday will be more family time; Craig’s birthday is on Saturday, so my assumption is that we will celebrate Craig’s birthday on Friday, given Saturday’s happenings. Which brings me to Saturday: Georgia Tech vs. UGA football! This is always fun (yes, even when our team blew chunks); this time will be even more special, as all nine – yes nine—of us will be at the game! Mum and Dad, Jordan and I, Craig and Pam, Rachel and Tyler, and Super Gran! It is an evening game (8pm), so we will actually have a lot of time during the day to hang out (perhaps do some more Christmas shopping). We return to Pittsburgh Sunday evening.

I am ignoring the elephant in the room. Schoolwork. Groan. It is that dreaded time of the year when everything is due. In top of my typical work-load (of reading and discussing), I have the following requirements: Democratic Theory Paper and Oral Exam, EU Paper, Comparative Politics exam, and Methods Paper, Presentation and Exam. Without giving too much away, lets just say that I am far from prepared. Rather than blogging, I should be preparing for the week. I am going to have to bring some work home with me over the break, although it is not clear when I will have time to do this! Oh well, c’est la vie.