It’s your Christmas too…

Somehow, it’s almost Christmas.

I for one can’t believe how fast this year has flown by… and suddenly we’re in silly season again.

Previous years, I’ve seen so many women burn out, trying to make Christmas completely perfect.

Filling everyone else’s cup (or flute 😉) but not their own.

I’ve been there too. There were years I’d panic about having matching glasses, the perfect tablescape, making sure everyone had everything they needed… and forgetting myself.

The first year I was divorced, everything changed. I let go of expectations, because I really just wanted to enjoy family time at a point when I was in such a lot of mental pain.

I had a 2 year old at the time, who tucked into beans on toast while we all ate (slightly overdone) turkey, served on chipped plates. The glasses didn’t match. The centrepiece was a single candle. I bought just enough food, and nothing was wasted, because I wasn’t panicking about whether I’d have enough. I did my favourite Xmas trick of serving each course a few hours apart, so no-one gets too full (game changer, TBH).

In other words, I gave myself a f*ing break.

Something we as women are trained not to do. 

This is your permission slip to do so.

(It was one of my favourite ever Christmases, by the way).

I’m not sure if it’s because of the work I do, but I’m starting to see a little shift.

We’re realising we can’t do it all at the expense of our own health.

We have to let go of perfection, and embrace “good enough”.

We know that giving time and care to ourselves = an easier ride. Not just for us, but for those around us. And that makes our lives just that little bit easier.

I love this poem that was shared this week by Anna Mathur – kinda sums it up.