Support Groups Blog

In the vast world of technology there is something so traditional about maintaining a paper or white board calendar. In our house, a large paper calendar from an office supply store takes up the wall of the laundry room. While our personal and work obligations are dutifully put into our phone, the family calendar is lovingly maintained on paper. All the dentist, doctor and ortho appointments are jotted down, as well as all the after school activities and commitments.

Another year is coming to a close and what a year it has been. January of 2021 brought about something that few of us imagined outside of the movies, our capitol was attacked, but not by a foreign country, but by its own citizens. Lives were lost and the era of the Trump Presidency ended not with peace, but with armed Americans storming the capital.

The holidays come around and there is this perceived expectation that we should look and act like the cover of a Christmas movie. Our houses should look perfectly decorated, the matching pajamas should be ready for Christmas eve, the presents perfectly wrapped and of course the menu should be magazine perfect.

Christmas can't be bought from a store. Maybe Christmas means a little bit more.
-Dr. Suess

A lot of us were taught from an early age that putting our wants and needs first is selfish, that we should think of others ahead of our own needs. So we grew up with the mindset that self care and putting our needs above others is the height of impropriety. We work hard to provide for our families, we buy nice gifts for everyone besides ourselves, we defer making decisions and we don't complain when we are inconvenienced.

We hope that everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a lovely day, or at the very least, a manageable holiday. Time with the family isn’t always easy, it can be fraught with emotional landmines and way too many topics that are better left untouched. Which leads us to the topic of how best to navigate the remainder of the Holiday Season.