I don't want to go back to Chicago, really

This Christmas I accidentally wrapped some peoples' presents in wedding wrapping paper. My mom is really into the gold and white Christmas, as opposed to the red and green Christmas or the red and green and gold Christmas, so I just blindly grabbed at whatever was on the wrapping paper shelf. Apparently, my mom also like the white and gold Weddings, so some people were reminded over Christmas in gold cursive writing that "A Wedding is a beautiful fulfillment of love."

This year's Christmas gifts seem to have been overwhelmingly kitchen-themed for my friends and I. Stacy got a vacuum cleaner and a waffle maker, I got knives and a crock-pot, and salt and pepper shakers, there is a picture of my friend Julia lovingly caressing her 7-cup food processor, and some other people got things like a chocolate fountain, a pancake-puff...thing? pan? and a pink spatula with some other mixing things. This is most likely happening because our parents are realizing that we are graduating and are going to have to feed ourselves. On a side note, my mom still thinks I don't eat. More than one of our phone conversations have focused on food, and what I have eaten and what she has eaten, with her giving out a detailed description of how she made the pasta she had for dinner that night and ending with "I'm just telling you because it was good!", translating into "I am just telling you this because you should cook this." So come September we'll all be clueless but at least we'll all have great cooking supplies.

In one week I am going back to Chicago. This year I am positively dreading the return in the face of everything I have to do. I am going to live this week up.