I hope this message finds you smiling and getting ready to wind down for the holiday weekend!
In case you are a little stressed out about the holidays, I want to share a key part of my holiday experience, which I can absolutely thank my fertility journey for…unapologetic self-care.
In the context of the holiday weekend and the days following, whether you have hoards of family coming into town, or it is just you and your honey, here’s a quick run down of simple ways to make sure you and your needs don’t get lost in the mix.
1) Take an f-ing break.
Feeling like you might scream because it feels like you are getting pulled in a thousand different directions with everyone else’s expectations and demands? Turn off your phone, get off the internet, and have some quiet time that’s just all about you.
You are a human being, not some hapless drone. This is your holiday too. Give yourself permission to just trust that things will fall into place AND that they are more likely to “fall into place” when you have taken a second to decompress and take a break!
2) Say “peace-out” if the conversation gets weird.
If you can’t stand to hear your sister-in-law drone on about how she just can’t seem to stop getting pregnant, give yourself permission to get up and go to the next room. Who says you have to sit there and listen to that mess if it makes your skin crawl?
If someone asks you an idiotic question about when you are having kids or how your treatment is going, keep this in mind: you don’t have to answer the question. Consider this response: “It’s Christmas. Let’s talk about something more Christmas-y! How about that?” Put the onus back on them to come up with a better topic! (I love that move.)
3) Say NO.
No is a word that gets sorely underused this time of year. Use it with abandon over the next few days. Why not? If you don’t really feel like doing something and no one’s life is hanging in the balance, who says you have to? Chances are you give so much of yourself throughout the year. You know what’s worse than risking someone’s ire? Resenting yourself (and the other person), wishing you had the guts to say NO! Saying a well-placed NO today means you will have the ability to say an authentic YES when it really counts.
4) Listen to your gut.
You know what you need most. Let that inner voice guide you. Let your intuition, your wisdom, and your real truth guide you over the next few days. It rarely fails you–if ever.
Trying to be everything to everyone and being “perfect” is a fool’s game…not to mention being ridiculously exhausting and downright impossible.
Love, you are no fool.
Take good care of yourself over the next few days.
Lots of love,
