So many of us put so much pressure on ourselves to have this perfectly magical holiday season just because we feel like we’re supposed to have a perfectly magical holiday season.
We run around trying to do everything we possibly can to make it “good enough” and we try to make everyone else happy while we are completely miserable and stressed out.
Why?
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Because Hallmark movies and TV shows and social media posts make us feel like we’re the only ones who aren’t having a perfectly magical holiday season?
Because we feel like if we just try hard enough we can recreate those perfect holiday seasons that we remember having with our loved one?
Because we’re trying to make ourselves feel better and like nothing has really changed?
Maybe it’s a mixture of all of those things all at once.
Either way, the holiday season has a way of creating so much unnecessary stress and heightening all of the grief, guilt, and loneliness you are already feeling.
Please stop putting so much pressure on yourself to make this holiday season something big.
Stop putting unrealistic expectations on yourself and your loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Stop making all of this harder than it already is.
Give yourself a break.
Find small moments of joy.
Focus on presence and love.
I promise you that the little things are what you will remember the most about the holidays with your loved one.
And they are what you will miss the most when they are gone.
*If this post resonated with you, you should consider joining the Alzheimer’s Daughters Club!
**If you liked this post, you would love my book “When Only Love Remains: Surviving My Mom’s Battle with Early Onset Alzheimer’s.” It’s available on all Amazon marketplaces.
