Hey there, currently facing a dilemma.
I’m not able to go back to my origin country for the holidays due to money, scheduling, flying in the winter being miserable, being horribly depressed just stuck in my parents house, and a friend recently moving to my new country and wanting to be there for them.
How do I even begin to tell my family that I’m not coming back? They’re trying to include me in a gift exchange (without having asked…), and just fully expect me to come back like I did last year. I’ve told them I don’t know about vacation time yet, but I’m not really sure what to say at this point.
Do I just lie and say I couldn’t get the time approved? Or do I tell the truth that I just don’t want to do all that travel and spend all that money…
Understanding it’s going to be uncomfortable and not presenting it as a discussable point and having the conversation is legit the only path forward.
Don’t dwell on it. Let everyone deal with it. And they’ll all move on.
Then just be normal. Try to FaceTime or send a gift or whatever thoughtful stuff you want to do.
Normal people just kind of fall in line.