This week, I’ve been feeling very unmotivated. Just kind of over it. Tired of trying to layer Christmas cheer on top of all the regular life stuff that still (annoyingly!) happens in the month of December. (The fact that I caught a cold from Maggie hasn’t helped with the motivation situation.)
I have a list of things to do, which is typically a great challenge for me.
Typical Me: “To-do list, I see you. And I will CONQUER you!”
This Week Me: “Yeah…I’m just going to bed.”
Let’s just say I’ve been able to very strongly relate to this reindeer in recent days:
But here’s the thing: I’m not alone.
Of course I’m not. That’s why memes like this exist. But it’s helpful to be reminded that I’m not alone.
Even more, it’s helpful to remember that it’s totally reasonable to feel this way right now.
This is a BUSY SEASON, y’all. Yes, it’s the season of giving and of cheer and of being together, but there’s so much, well, CHEER (and cheer-related tasks like cookie baking and gift buying and Christmas card sending) to squeeze into a single month. Oh yeah, and that comes on top of work and grocery shopping and laundry and and AND.
Now that Maggie’s a toddler, this year seems to have more pressure attached to it than last year did. Last year, she had no idea what was going on. This year, she’s starting to get it a little bit. (And next year will be a completely different ballgame!) But this year, I’ve felt the need to start to carve out some traditions for our family. I want to be both intentional and organic about those traditions developing, which can just leave me feeling confused about it all. (Kevin’s been helpful at reminding me that our traditions can — and will — evolve over the years. That we don’t have to have them all locked in right NOW. He’s good at helping me add perspective like that.)
But yeah, once I let myself be “allowed” to feel overwhelmed and tired and kind of over it, I stopped feeling those things quite so strongly. Once I let myself remove some of the pressure, I was able to let some of those high expectations go and be more okay with life. This week. Today. Right now.
(Oh yeah — and the nasal spray my friend recommended that has helped my cold improve DEFINITELY helped me feel better overall, too!)
So if you, too, have been feeling a bit Grinch-like this week, I FEEL YOU. Goodness, do I feel you. I hope you can also zoom out on the holiday a bit and just…breathe. Christmas is coming Tuesday no matter what, and I hope it’s a happy day for you! I hope it’s a happy day for my family, too. Let’s try to focus on how we want Christmas to FEEL — not what we want it to look like or taste like, not how memorable we want it to be, not how many specific traditions we want attached to it.
Christmas 2018 is going to be amazing. It is!
(Oh, and you’ve absolutely got this. We both do.)
🙂
