On My Mind Mondays: What It Means To Be An Adult

Not sure what kind of mood I'm in this week, or today, although "introspective" generally is one word frequently used to describe my mindset.  Some of the things that are on my mind this week are -

1. Friends and feelings:  It seems to me that as adults (whatever that means) we're not supposed to openly air our feelings with our friends.  It's kind of weird because frankly, we can probably speak better about our emotions now then we could when we were, say, eight.  I'm afraid that it's seen as childish and that we're supposed to either keep it to ourselves and suck it up or bitch to our other friends, and that all seems counterproductive.
2. Gifts: Ah, the holiday season.  Let me be the first to say out loud (this probably follows under point 1) that I love gifts.  Yes, I love presents.  But not impersonal, obligatory, or out-of-character ones, and the holidays often have that underlying sense of both 'never enough' and 'is it right'?  I'm interested in dispensing with some of the anxiety and guilt that the holiday season brings with it.  So the ladyfriend and I are either making all our gifts or buying (predominantly) handmade gifts (and not "handmade" in an iPhone way, okay?).  The boy asked for a gift that I'm so excited about - I'm going to refurbish one of his hoodies with various bits of applique, embroidery, and whatever else I want to.   I love that this was his wish. (The fact that I feel like I have to say something about how that won't be his only gift is so revealing about what this season does to us).
3. Thanksgiving:  As an American in Canada, this is the holiday that I miss the most.  I haven't quite been converted to Canadian Thanksgiving (which we spent in the States this year), and I always teach on Thanksgiving Thursday (insert here my classic complaint that Canadian Thanksgiving takes place on whatever day over the weekend everyone agrees to, which just doesn't sit right with me).  It's a food holiday, and I want to spend the day in the kitchen (yep!) making turkey and all kinds of other goodies.  The ladyfriend is getting some of that this year as she's going to see her family in Colorado.  I, and a friend, will be having the turkey dinner at Russell Williams after we're done teaching.  Maybe next year I can take the day off.