and there is the obligation to buy gifts. my family is very easy going about it, but the in-laws will go fucking nuts if you didn't buy enough presents. they take holidays far too seriously. there was one year she had to work on thanksgiving, but still had "friendsgiving" the following weekend. and they hounded her for months for not coming to thanksgiving one year due to work obligations. it was weird.
i kind of hate having to exchange gifts because the mere lopsidedness of the value of the gifts is a reminder of what a failure i am financially. i often get something for my parents in the 25-30 dollar range. honestly considering pirating all the lossless digital versions of her favorite lps and putting them in iTunes, because her collection is very sparse. and maybe a cheesecake. i will get my dad the latest aging rock star autobiography, probably.
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