Life's not so funny sometimes

Today I returned to work both hopeful and nervous. It turns out I have only one day left of PTO to take for vacation/sick time/whatever. I needed three days to visit my parents for Thanksgiving, per the airline tickets they already bought me as my Christmas gift. When I called the airline to change my flight thus cutting my visit to them in ½, I was told there would be an $180 penalty plus an upgrade fee because there are only first class tickets available on 11/23/11. So….since I don’t have that kind of money just lying around AND I’ll be damned if I ask my parents to pay this, I guess I’ll be spending Thanksgiving alone.

Some people may argue, what’s the big deal? Weren’t your parents just here last week? Yes they were, but I was ill and mostly incapacitated. The majority of the visit consisted of them playing nurse and driving me to medical appointments. I would like to spend time with them where I’m able to at least sit up straight without wanting to vomit. It can also be argued that I can just see them another time. I would like to explain that my family lives 1000 miles away so t requires taking a few days off of work, booking a plane ticket, and some expenses I’m not normally equipped to handle. Having said this I only see them TWICE a year. TWICE a year. I go to them once, they come to me once. When they visited me in June I only saw them for 3 days. My parents are the most important people in the world to me and this hurts more than I could ever convey.

The holidays are a very special time to me. This year will be the first time in my life I will be spending both Thanksgiving and Christmas completely alone. I guess this is the price I pay for choosing to live 1000 miles away from my family and getting divorced from the “family” I had up here. I am truly all by myself.

I am sad. I am angry. I am hurting. It is because I keep getting sick with these freak medical conditions that I end up in these situations.