Family gatherings. Something we looked forward to every year as a kid, excited for all the time you were going to spend playing with your cousins, with everyone together and warm cozy vibes supported by good food and conversation.

Blissfully oblivious to the planning, the coordination, and the cost of everything. When dinner was called, all you had to do was grab a plate and dig in.

But, where did all of that food come from? Sure, Mom would get up at the crack of dawn to start the day-long process of cooking the stuffed turkey, but aside from that and the apples you peeled for apple pie, you really took all of that for granted.

If you've ever cooked a meal for four or so people, you know how much work and how expensive even a simple meal can be. (When did food get so expensive?) By the time you account for all of your extended family, numbering 10 to 20 people, it's an exorbitant cost that one person couldn't possibly shoulder. 

While you can get away with freeloading when you're a kid, by the time you're an adult-sized kid, you need to contribute beyond peeling the apples. Still, you can't just go blindsiding people with costs, especially in this economy, and just because you decided to splash out on food for the holidays doesn't mean that everyone in your family is going to be able to match you. 

Who is in the wrong here? It's hard to say, but I think the poster gets the edge on this once since she wasn't privy to the expectation of cost. Still, how much does a plate for a whole extended family cost these days? I'd be shocked if it wasn't somewhere north of $50.

Food allergies are taken very seriously on flights, but this passenger seems confused about what medical issues she actually has going on. 

Any allergies should be taken seriously, but not all are created equal. For instance, maybe you're a little allergic to a hair product that makes your skin itch when you wear it, so you just avoid it. Or maybe you know that if you eat shellfish, you'll break out in hives, so you keep that out of your diet. But some people have extremely serious allergies that can be life threatening, and even if you don't have one, you probably know someone who does. Nut allergies are one of the most common ones. If you went to school with just a single kid who had a peanut allergy, your school may have banned peanut butter all together. It's just not a laughing matter — for some folks, even a scent of their allergen can cause their body to start the allergic reaction, sending them to the hospital. 

For those with allergies that severe, traveling can be nerve wracking. Luckily, airlines do take this kind of thing seriously, and they can keep passengers with special requirements safe while traveling if they know about these allergies ahead of time.

However, this person claims to have allergies, and maybe they do…but their self-typed note about it is just bizarre, as you can read below. Read it for yourself, then see if you agree with what the commenters are buzzing about too. 

Living the adult life means that, unfortunately, you can't have a "day off" from your responsibilities, least of all from your job, whenever you want. No, being an adult means that in order to have a day off, you have to request it in advance and get it approved. Sometimes it even takes months of planning just to get one day of peace and quiet. 

When the hardworking project manager in the story below decided to take one day, just one day, off work, they didn't want to be bothered whatsoever. What is the point of a day off if you have to answer calls or think about work? 

However, this manager's coworkers clearly didn't think the same way, as they had no problems texting and calling the project manager while they were away. So while this PM was having lunch with their family, after months of being devoted to their job, they had to turn their phone off just to stop it from ringing. 

When they finally called back to see what was so urgent, they were met with passive-aggressive remarks about wanting to be left alone on their day off…

IT people–can't live with them, can't live without them. They have so much power in their hand, they make sure we know it, but they are always there when we need them. They deal with a lot of, let's call them… technically challenged people, and they do it with a smile on their face. 

But that doesn't mean they can't also make your job unnecessarily complicated as well.

In most companies, when you need something from IT, you must submit a ticket, and they will take care of your request when they can. Will they do it as fast as possible, or in the most efficient way? In the case of the employee in the story below, the answer is absolutely… not.

This employee needed access to a folder containing a lot of information about a product of the company, so they sent a ticket to IT to gain access. IT, however, claimed that the employee must file a different ticket for every subfolder within, which ended up amounting to hundreds of tickets.

Wanted to do right by the hardworking people of IT, this employee complied, and within an hour, flooded the IT department with tickets to access the data needed. It wasn't long before IT realized the flaw in their demands…

Sure, you're not necessarily with the same generational dynamics, but you are dealing with people problems. In this case, we have a 54-year-old woman who always organized Thanksgiving dinner with her friend group of 10-15 ladies. They alternated who hosted year after year, but one of their friends had a very strict vegan diet. 

When the other friends hosted, they all went out of their way to make sure that their vegan friends had plenty to eat, even if the classic Thanksgiving dishes are not exactly consistent with a vegan diet. Still, they always made it work.

This year, the vegan friend decided it was time that she took the reins and hosted the event. 

What no one realized until just weeks before was that everyone would be eating vegan dishes. Yes, everyone. 

The author and her spouse began to feel like this Thanksgiving would be more of a punishment than an enjoyable experience. They wanted to enjoy Thanksgiving food, the one time a year that everyone else in their community wants it. But when they bowed out of participating in their vegan friend's event, they did not anticipate that the entire rest of the friend group would follow.

Some friends how up to Thanksgiving dinner with only drama, while others bring all the delicious food. Unfortunately for this friend group, they pranked the only friend who knew how to cook well… 

Friendsgiving can either be the most enjoyable time or the most dramatic. If you're planning on pranking one of your friends, that can very easily and quickly turn the time sour. Why would you do that during a nice dinner? Like, that's just mean… In this friend group, the girls all went behind one of their girlfriend's back to tell everyone to dress nice, while she will be told to dress very casual. Why? Because she looked too nice at brunch one day and it made their pregnant friend insecure… Like, girl, that sounds like a you problem. Don't tell me you didn't know you would gain weight when you got pregnant? 

So, everyone showed up looking nice, even the boys, except this one girl who showed up in sweat pants and an old t-shirt. Now, maybe they didn't realize this, but this triggered something in her. She had recently gotten out of a toxic relationship where she couldn't wear whatever she wanted and look nice, so when she broke up, she wanted to dress nice. This was her healing journey! And here, her friends pushed her back several steps out of spite. Well guess what? She's taking the food! And that she did. Enjoy eating your cruelty for dinner. 

Our fathers will always closely analyze any man their little princess brings home. Part of their role as dads is to ensure that they approve of the person we are with, but is there such a thing as being too judgmental? I think we all know the answer to that. Absolutely. I genuinely think there are two types of girl-dads when it comes to dating. First, you have the laidback, happy-go-lucky type. The optimistic, 'I'm happy if she's happy,' doesn't-take-much-to-impress-him type. That is very much the essence of my father…already planning my wedding before my second date with a guy! No complaints, though. Then next we have the guilty-until-proven-innocent dad, always expecting the worst of their daughter's partners. The pessimist, who believes that no one could ever be good enough for their little girl! 

However, we may have just found the exception to the rule: The dad who perfectly fits into both categories! Unapologetically. This father really does love his daughter's boyfriend. He's smart, responsible, ambitious, and loves his daughter. Everything a father could want. But his roles in life do not end at being a dad, he is also an accountant…and oftentimes allows that title to interfere with his relationship with his potential son-in-law! Her boyfriend recently made a business move that her father finds extremely risky. However, his constructive feedback is not taken with the most open-mindedness and optimism, as his daughter claims that he is using 'professional concern' as a mask to cover his personal judgment. 

Have you ever been an intern? Internships were curated for people who have zero experience in the work field that they are trying to break into. So, they do an internship that pays little money, if any at all. You figure out the inner working of your field and viola! You're on your way to being an expert. Sometimes internships can even lead to a full-time job. However, too many times does a company take advantage of this cheap or free labor. That is not what internships are for, you evil manglement!

This intern finally cracked and immediately quit. The entire internship team was getting pushed around and treated unimportant. They weren't making enough money, and the little that they did, the upper management would find a way to take it from them. The interns might not be learning the jack of the trade, but they're definitely learning how to see the red flags in a company!

The final straw was when this intern was actually agreeing with her upper management. They said they agreed with them. And the manager had to make sure this intern knew they were not as important as them, because he told them that they aren't even in a position to have an opinion. So, she quit the next day.  

We've all had that one coworker who refuses to clean up their own messes.

This author recounted the story of a coworker who was working just a few feet away from her when a call came in from a concerned customer. This person needed to update their address for their homeowner's insurance policy, and the coworker had been their point person for prior communication. Apparently, updating the address involved filling out a new form and lots of silly logistical steps that the coworker did not feel like dealing with. 

So, she did exactly what she had been doing to other people in the office when they had to take on her customers on her behalf. She offloaded all the responsibility onto them, as if she were their superior. Spoiler alert: she wasn't.

This author knew that this coworker had tried to pull stunts like this in the past, and she wasn't having it this time around. Just when she asked for the author to take on all that extra work on top of her own To Do list, the author transferred the call her way so that the coworker had no choice but to pick up the phone and figure it out herself!

AI is taking over our lives faster than we can say artific….Yep, you see, they just automated yet another third of your daily work tasks! What seems like a bonus at first, but when you really sit to think about it, makes you wonder how much the company will need you in the coming months or even days. Initially, humans believed that they would maintain control over this opportunistic, ever-changing technological tool. But the truth is, we're a lot closer to, not only rewatching The Matrix due to all our unemployed free time, but to actually living it! So we can see why certain people may be more resentful or simply more wary of artificial intelligence than others!

This job seeker is one of those people. He is fortunately in a position to be picky when it comes to applying for jobs. But does that mean that some of his big no-nos may be a bit dramatic? He argues not! After receiving a potential offer from one company, he is extremely hopeful, but his hope is crushed when he learns that his first interview will be through an AI-only system. He truly values human interaction when it comes to company culture, so he kindly declines the interview! Refusing to give them another chance when they offer him an in-person alternative…Is this applicant too picky for the job world, or will his distaste for artificial intelligence eventually catch up to him, offering him no other choice?

Just because something is inconvenient for you does not mean you have the right to make everyone else's lives inconvenient.

This lady forgot that she needed to take her dog to the vet for a routine checkup before going out of town the very next day. When she called the office, the receptionist informed her that everything was booked, and she wouldn't be able to schedule the lady and her dog for an appointment for another three weeks.

Let's just say that the Karen of this tale did not take this news well at all. She proceeded to go into full rage mode, berating the receptionist over the phone and demanding an appointment that day. The receptionist gave her the best offer she could, which was to put her on the waitlist and inform her if something opens up. 

That wasn't good enough for dear old Karen. She doubled down and proceeded to demand that she speak with other pet owners with scheduled appointments in order to get them to move things around for her. Talk about some audacity! Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions from several members of this online community.

There are two types of CEOs of a company: Those who know nothing about what's going on in their own business, and those who want to know every little detail. There is no in between; either they are overly involved, or they couldn't care less about how their business operates.

The CEO in the story below is clearly a member of the overly involved group. When they demanded to be CC's on every single internal communication within the company, they meant it. They wanted to a copy of every announcement, remainder, and birthday. 

It wasn't long before this request backfired and proved that it's better not to get involved with everything that's going on, even in your own company. That lesson was learned after HR decided to send a personalized email to every employee in the company, and the CEO got every single one of these emails.

We're talking thousands of emails with the same text, only addressed to a different employee each time…

When you're a parent, it can be hard to let go. You go through the process of figuring everything out as they grow, with so many changes and responsibilities changing over time. Just as soon as you have everything figured out and the responsibility is peaking, suddenly it's time to start letting all of it out. Almost like a rope that you've been hauling in for their entire life suddenly needs to be thrown back overboard. There's definitely a better sailing metaphor in here somewhere, but throwing all of that rope out when you've worked so hard to pull it in feels unnatural. Hanging onto things, be it responsibilities, decisions, or documents, becomes a way to maintain both connection and control over something that you're quickly losing control over. But as with anything, it's just a part of the tides of life, and you need to learn to let go.

As your kids get older, it's important to realize that they are going to—no, need to become fully fledged adults who are able to make it all on their own. And, I think a lot of parents are so determined to hang on to what they have that they actually stunt their kids' development. Too much clinging on and not letting them figure it out for themselves is how you wind up with people like your freshman roommate from college, who literally wasn't able to care for or feed themselves.

All of this being said, who among us actually knows where their birth certificate is? 

I'm fairly certain that mine is actually safely tucked in my parents' filing cabinet along with other important documents that I've never used or needed. But it's hard to say, and I haven't laid eyes on it in years. 

My mother might be a little bit reluctant to let them go, were I to come around asking for them, she might even react like this mother here. And there is some truth to the fact that your birth certificate, social security, and the like were issued to your parents, but you barely existed, and at a certain point, it's safe to say that they can be considered yours. But you have to know that it's coming from the right place, and sometimes it's just a little hard letting go.

Kids will always surprise you with their unexpected antics, and sometimes, all you can do about it is laugh it off!

Parenting requires a good sense of humor — otherwise you'll spend half your time being exasperated with the kiddos. They constantly surprise you with how smart and curious they are… but curiosity can lead to trouble! 

This uncle knows that all too well after seeing his 3-year-old niece get into a spot of trouble. She found a pair of AirPods and ate one! These little pods are so small that they're a well-known illicit snack for dogs and babies. For all the convenience they offer, they're also just too easily mistaken for a treat, apparently. 

If one does ingest an AirPod, it'll require a trip to the ER, since they do contain batteries. So long as a doctor sees you in a timely manner, you'll probably be fine. This uncle waited until paramedics had already been called before joking around, but for some reason, the other adults in the room weren't laughing. Maybe they were picturing the sky-high medical bills that were about to follow, but this guy seems like he has a fun sense of humor! 

However, not every commenter agreed with this guy's choice of joke. Some thought that it wasn't the right time or place. I mean, help was already on the way — joking around was probably better than having a 3-year-old in tears over her choice of electronic snack. Let's hope the kid feels better soon, and as for the uncle, at least he's got camaraderie on the internet with plenty of commenters who found the whole thing uproarious. 

Usually, parents refuse to disclose who their favorite child is and act like they love all their children equally. Well, in an office, everything works exactly the opposite way. Managers have no problem stating who their favorite employees are and will do everything in their power to ensure everyone knows. They will grant these selected employees' every wish, adhere to their request, and do none of that to those deemed less deserving.

Which is exactly what happened in the story below, after the boss divided his workers into two teams – Team A and Team B. Team A got everything they wanted; they even got other employees suspended just because they asked. Team B was the "other child", those who didn't make the manager's dream team. 

It wasn't long before members of Team B got tired of being treated like an unloved kid, and decided to leave. And when employees started quitting one after the other, one employee decided to make their resignation as petty as they could, while ensuring they got everything they were denied so far, just because they belonged in Team B.

Keep scrolling to read how they made that happen.

At a small logistics company, one shipping coordinator routinely processed twice as many orders as anyone else on her shift. The work wasn't glamorous, but she was reliable and thorough.

One Monday, her boss stormed onto the warehouse floor, furious about a shipment that had been delayed over the weekend. He loudly blamed the coordinator, despite the fact that she hadn't been working when the delay occurred. When she pointed out the truth, he waved it off and demanded she "start acting like she cared."

She did... just not the way he expected.

Poor Alan just wanted to wear his favorite pair of shorts!

This front desk agent at a well-known hotel in his area recounted the tale of when he met Alan on a trip to accompany a group of guests to and from the airport. Alan was the new hire who was set to start work the following day. The front desk agent was meant to train him. Alan seemed pleasant and excited to get started. It could have the been the start of a beautiful friendship, were it not for the jean shorts Alan planned on wearing to his first day of work.

Of course, the front desk agent was not aware of Alan's fashion plans. Otherwise, he would have told him that their boss was not going to be a fan of the dressed down look. Sure, they weren't working at a five-star hotel, but their boss was the kind of person who would. 100% draw the line at jorts… and he did.

Keep scrolling below to find out what happened when the front desk agent returned to the hotel after an errand, only to find out that Alan was already out of a job.

New supervisor juggling university and a retail job discovers training is mythical,, schedules change on a whim, and management thinks overtime is the solution when everything else fails. A job market held together with duct tape and denial, staffed by people who treat basic courtesy like an optional accessory tucked behind the lost-and-found counter. First day in, there's no onboarding, just a rotating calendar and endless requests to stick around after hours so someone can feign competence long enough to explain the job.

Hierarchy becomes a spectator sport when the resident supervisor greets newcomers with the warmth of a broken freezer, making entry-level leadership look like a parade of petty power trips and missed introductions. Schedules get updated by telepathy or crossed fingers, leaving everyone to guess when work's being done and whose weekend is about to evaporate. Turns out retail isn't a stepping stone to anything but mild existential dread and a waiting room for the next set of unreasonable demands.

Thanksgiving week at the office is universally… weird. Everyone's in the same boat, where half the team's already mentally on a four-day weekend (if they didn't already take the whole week off), your inbox is a ghost town, and most of your standing meetings have been skipped entirely. You sit at your desk, pretending to focus on spreadsheets or reports, but really, your brain is a slideshow of mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and whatever dessert you're most excited about.

That's why memes are essential this week.