Working in an office with a majority of transplants from all over the contiguous United States, many of us at Kirvin Doak Communications go home for the holidays, making the trek back to the cities and small towns where we grew up. This year, however, a few of us decided to spend the Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas – our second home. 
For those who celebrate, Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for your blessings, and my favorite part – feast on ridiculous amounts of food until you reach the certain level of fullness where you consider unbuttoning your pants for a little breathing room (I tend to refrain as it often crosses a line of appropriateness – depends on your audience, I suppose). At first, I questioned my decision on staying in town in order to save money for my flight home for Christmas. Originally from Ohio, it’s hard to get home as often as I would like with the obscene prices for flights, time zone changes, etc. However, I realized that after living in Las Vegas for more than a year, I have come to embrace the city as a little piece of home, or a second home with loved ones and dear friends that I know I will cherish for the rest of my life.
On Thanksgiving evening, I went over to a friend’s apartment and enjoyed the holiday with wine, massive quantities of turkey and great company (and the new episode of Glee, but that goes without saying). It was nice to reflect on the feelings of independence and maturity that we all felt in our lives; that we were content spending a holiday away from family, but still having that sense of peace and comfort of being with loved ones. Overall, it was a fantastic night and a holiday memory that I will treasure
˜ Shandi Huber
