Holidays for me are really hard. This is actually the first year that I’ve spent with my dad. The two previous years, my parents had been separated and I couldn’t see him. Holidays with my mother’s family suck because I’m forced to hang out with people who don’t even like me. My grandfather and great aunt love my cousins. And they are so happy but when I walk over, they can’t remember my name and don’t want to see me. I’ve always been pushed away but holidays make it worse. My mother has done a lot of messed up things to me but what she does on holidays is definitely in the top five worst things she’s done. My mom likes to drink and she always has 3+ full wine glasses that I’ve seen. I’ve tried my best to stop her from driving but with my dad working shut downs, I didn’t have anyone to take me home. So around midnight, she would drive us home, drunk. And it was obvious, her speech was slurred and just out of it. She always did this, every year, and me being barely a teenager couldn’t do anything. Her family saw and they didn’t even try to stop her. Back in 2019, for Memorial Day, my uncle held a family gathering. My mom, her sister her brother, and his wife got wasted. Two bottles of fancy wine and a bottle of whiskey. My mom tried to grab her keys, but she could barely walk and smelt like a bar. Fortunately I took her keys away and texted my dad to pick us up, all while she was saying “I can drive, give me my keys.” My own uncle told me to give my mom her keys. Completely serious. If I had given my mom her keys, we could’ve crashed or died. I didn’t realize what my uncle said at the time, considering that I was surrounded by 4 drunk adults telling me to let my mom drive, but my uncle knew that I probably would’ve died. This event is a permanent reminder to me that my uncle could care less about me or his sister. My dad picked us up and took us home. He was scared out of his mind, he knew what my uncle was like. Keep in mind that I was twelve years old and I had to figure out how to get my mom home since my uncle said we couldn’t stay over. My uncle would rather have my mother and I crash than stay in one of the five bedrooms he owned. And that’s only one of my uncles. My family is messed up but I’m grateful that I got to spend this year with my dad and my dog. Happy Holidays.