Make It a Gentle Christmas

Has anybody else been feeling crazy tired lately?

Last week, I could have slept for three days straight. This was especially disconcerting because my end-of-the-year-and-holiday-to-do-list is multiple pages long.

I was snapping at my husband and kids, and taking every opportunity to mention how tired I was and how much I needed to get done. 

And then, I had this moment of realization: I don’t need to end strong this year. I’d rather rest, not complete my to-do list, and be more present to all of those around me than frantically rush around to uphold exceedingly high expectations.

The realization continued: Christmas isn’t supposed to be stressful. It’s supposed to be fun! And festive! And a time to bond with others! How did it get to be tied up with so much…work? 

So, I’m making Christmas gentler…and I hope you do too. 

I was inspired by Emily Freeman’s encouragement to let go of the need to end the year strong. End this year regular, leading to a much happier you—which, simultaneously and miraculously, ends up striking out the most important items on your to-do list.

I’ve accepted that Christmas cards won’t get done this year and neither will our Christmas tree (the one you see pictured above is my parent’s tree). My kids’ teachers didn’t receive creative and thoughtful Christmas gifts like I prepared in years past, just standard gifts cards. But hey, at least we’re relaxed! And not just that, remember that every Christmas is different. Next year’s energy levels may be higher.

On another note, thank you all for your heartfelt congratulatory comments in response to my most recent blog post. It was already a thrilling moment for me to accept the position but sharing it with my blog community made it even more scintillating.

Along those lines, several questions came up that I wanted to quickly address: Will I keep blogging? Absolutely. Will I continue to offer counseling sessions? Of course. Are you still working on your book? Yes, it’ll come out when it comes out. There’ve been a lot of starts and stops with that one. In short, I wrote a good chunk of it and then midway, realized I wanted to write about a completely different topic. 

A big factor in deciding to go back to work was whether or not I felt like I could pursue all of my career passions—the church, my writing, and my blog/blog community. 

Two years ago, the answer to that as a new mom of two was an unequivocal NO but things have changed: my kids are older and I’ve gotten much needed rest and perspective. 

Ah, there it is again. Rest.

Rest up this holiday season. The bears do it, why not you?