Going Home

Expectation: I walk into my clean house to a warm welcoming greeting from my dad. He tells me how much he misses me and how proud he is of me, for being captain of the team, for getting promoted at work, and for trying so hard in school. He then offers to co-sign a student loan to remove some of the burden from my shoulders. Then i need to go shower because we are all going to go out together, Anthony is on his way home. Dinner was delicious and we had a great conversation about goals,my dad is really excited about me going to California for the summer, and he thinks it is an awesome opportunity and he is totally behind my desire to study abroad in Australia, he is going to do everything he can to help out. I go home and sleep happily in me bed. The next day is a big family thanksgiving everyone puts aside their differences and we have a wonderful dinner the lions game is one and my dad offers me a beer. We all sit around and talk, and it starts to snow. The rest of the weekend I spend time with my friends from high school, and go visit a few of the people I used to work with. We catch each other up on our lives. We all have great stories to tell. I go shopping with my sister, we talk about everything catch up, just like old times. When it is finally time for me to leave I don't want to go, hard to say goodbye. But I have to leave and I let them know I will be back soon.
Reality: My dads not even home, the house is for lack of a better word trashed, there is shit cluttered everywhere, I am starving and there is nothing in the fridge to eat. When my dad comes home we half ass talk, he focuses on all the things I fucked up. Refuses to co-sign for me and tells me that I should get a real job instead of working in California. I don't even mention how I want to study abroad. I don't see Anthony the entire time I am home. My sister only calls me to babysit, as a favor. I don't see Craig, or any of the kids. Realize I have no High School friends and the people I used to work with are far to busy for me. Thanksgiving either doesn't happen at all or we go to my racist aunts house and I do shots of whiskey in the bathroom until I stab myself with a fork so we can leave. When its finally time to go I am waiting at the end of the driveway, so ready to leave, upset that I will have to be back so soon for Christmas, but worked it out so I will only be there for a week.