Minneapolis, MN — A local teen has reportedly left his family’s Thanksgiving lunch quite abruptly after citing what he refers to as a failed “vibe check.”

Across the nation, families and friends are gathering to celebrate a season of thanks, but not everyone feels their gratitude is being well-spent. At least that’s the story with 15-year old Chase Anderson, who was sitting at his family’s twenty-person Thanksgiving meal when he detected something was off.

“I just had a feeling, you know,” Anderson told Eritas, in an exclusive interview. “One minute I was listening to my uncle say the impeachment inquiry was all hearsay, and then my brother Lance starts arguing with him, and that’s the moment I knew I had to get out.”

Asked whether Chase had an opinion either way on the impeachment hearings, he said only that the president obviously did it but also that nothing matters since the planet is burning.

“It was more of a general vibe check, you know? The turkey wasn’t hitting like it should, and I could tell the pumpkin pie was a couple of hours away, so I said, you know what, I need to be excused.”

Chase’s parents were confused by the entire incident, especially because—in their words—he did not make a big show of excusing himself.

“Yeah, I just thought he was going to the bathroom,” Rick Anderson said.

“Right,” Ash added, “we also don’t have any rules about staying at the table for the whole Thanksgiving meal. There were twenty people there.”

“If we had known the vibe was off, though, we would have checked in with him,” Rick offered. “We’re very supportive of our children.”

Chase simply shrugged his shoulders at this, explaining to reporters that a vibe check doesn’t necessarily need to be addressed in a formal setting, because that in itself would be a bit of a vibe-kill.

“It’s more like, I don’t know, the vibes are off in this room, so let me go check the other room and see what the vibe is there. Nobody has to be at fault for it. Sometimes the vibe just isn’t right.”

Chase says that families everywhere can be more open and honest in their approach to a vibe check this holiday season through a few simple steps:

First, don’t try to cloak a vibe check in secrecy. Teens generally feel a sense of anxiety around a vibe check (“Am I the only one feeling this?”) so prepare to make their feelings heard and valued when expressed. But, Chase encourages, do ask for an open vibe check during key moments of the day. Encourage everyone at the table to be open in their feelings about the general vibe. 

“It used to be that we would go around the table and ask what everyone was thankful for,” 16-year old Kate of New Hampshire reports, “but this year, my family asked how the vibe was. The conversation was a lot more accessible for expressing our fears about Russian interference in the 2020 election.”

The holidays can be a time to reflect on the year and relax with loved ones, but that doesn’t mean they don’t come with feelings of stress, grief, and worries. As you prepare to host family and friends this season, ask yourself: Are the vibes off? And what can I do to restore them?