At the hawing Thanksgiving last week, I learned that my sister's family is unavailable for December 25 because of a rare visit from her distant in-laws. I get that things like that happen, but the discussion of it gave me the distinct impression that the other households already knew about it. I think sometimes the extended fams (both mine and the SO's) assume - maybe even subconsciously - that we are endlessly flexible because we don't have kids. However, that doesn't automatically follow. The Tuesday-Wednesday placement of this year's Eve and Day holidays, plus UW-Madison exams ending on the 21st, means that I will have no student help at work on the 21st, 23rd, and 26th - and now I have to ask my non-student colleagues to help on the 26th if I want to see my family. (The surrounding weekends are not an option for them for other in-law reasons.) I'm keenly aware that these are first world problems, but striking the annual balance between the expectations of each extended family does take away from the general fun of the holiday season. Some years I feel more jerked around than others, and this is shaping up to be one of those years.