If holidays are supposed to bring out the best in people, why do I always feel like they bring out the worst? As a kid, I remember my dad drinking too much and my mom and grandmother getting mad at him. There was always drama. So this year I made a choice: I'm staying in Pennsylvania for the holidays - all the holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years in the safety and comfort of Aunt Lu's house. I would just once like to experience a holiday without chaos, and since my parents won't be coming up here I thought that's what I'd get. But last night my mother called and gave me grief about not going to Florida for either Thanksgiving or Christmas.

She misses me. I get it. I miss her, but she has chosen to stay with a man who is a drunk and emotionally abusive simply because of the financial security he provides. I know it's hard to walk away but this summer I thought she was finally going to do it. She talked about doing it but she hasn't.

She thinks I'm staying here because of Josh, but that's not the case. I'm staying here because Aunt Lu gives me normalcy and I need that. I want that. I want to spend the whole day without fights and arguments. I want to sit on the couch Thanksgiving morning and watch the Macy's Parade without screaming in the background. I want to watch Brett open presents Christmas morning and see the excitement from a child's eyes. I want all of the good stuff that the holidays are supposed to bring. There's simply no contest between a Pennsylvania holiday and a Florida holiday. I've been there and done that and Florida holidays are always a disaster. I just wish I could make my mom understand.