"Well, it's also important that you do something you enjoy." Pete reasoned, though he completely understood that sort of familial loyalty, even if his was slightly reversed. His mother often got angry with him for trying to work over vacations to help out at home, not spending, what she thought was, enough time on what he loved (or, more likely, that he wasn't off finding a girlfriend). He'd been attempting to balance both when he ventured to the East coast, but that never stopped her getting on his case for it. "If you can find a happy medium it tends to save your sanity."
He chewed more, though realized his portion was steadily disappearing, determined to make it last as long as possible as he worked on gathering the tasty tidbits on the more empty portions of the tupperware. "Are you planning on doing anything for Halloween? Any costumes in mind?"