I attribute the greatness of the day to me relaxing and letting go of expectations. I have a high propensity to have a lot of anxiety when it comes to hosting at all. Add to that the pressure that comes with making Christmas day perfect and magical and I had a higher than likely chance of being stressed out and disappointed that I didn't do things perfectly.
We put a lot of pressure on ourselves during this season. It can be heartbreaking when things don't go as we plan. I've read two blog posts recently from people who didn't have the perfect Christmases they hoped for:
Kate at the Greatest Escapist writes about How She Accidentally Ruined Christmas.
Marquette at Pinstrosity writes about How Christmas Really Went.
Both of these posts touched me because I could see myself in them. I could remember times when I felt similarly. I appreciated how REAL and open they were. Neither post ended on a happy note and that is REAL. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be crushed by unfulfilled expectations. Sometimes we make a small mistake and allow that to consume us to where we feel like we do nothing right. Those are real feelings. I appreciate both of these women for sharing their experiences.
I wish us all the ability to stop being our worst enemy is 2016!
I'm glad you had an amazing (and restful) holiday!
ReplyDeleteMe too! I'm going to be so ready to go back to work in the New Year.
DeleteWhen family is involved, any holiday can go badly. I remember my nephew and sister (his mother) nearly came to blows on my birthday. I'm glad I don't host things because my anxious nature can't handle it. This Christmas was fine, but we stopped making a big deal out of that years ago.
ReplyDeleteOMG, glad no one had to swing on each other!
DeleteI'll be the first to admit that every year I stress out before Christmas. I need to learn to take a more relaxed approach and enjoy the meaning of the season. So glad you had a nice holiday. Happy New Year to you and your family!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and your family as well!
DeleteThanks for this post! You know what? My boyfriend got home around 2pm, & we opened gifts & ate tacos & met friends at a bar to watch football, & we had a totally nice. lovely little evening together. It wasn't as much time as we expected to have, but it was certainly not a ruined Christmas - & it taught me a little lesson, too, about chilling the eff out & relaxing & letting life do what it does sometimes. A good reminder. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time! Yea, life does what it wants, we just have to keep up lol
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