Season Madness & Gratitude

It’s that time of year when I start to feel stress from everyone around me. When I think back I used to be one of those people, the stress year end reports and deadlines at work, meal planning for holidays and purchasing of gifts for immediate and extended family and friends was simply overwhelming. While I loved the idea of spending time with family while enjoying a meal, the craziness and gift requiring holiday left me feeling exhausted and down right grouchy at times.

Now fast forward to 2020, a holiday season during a pandemic. I definitely didn’t see this one coming, but it’s here, so let’s make the best of it. Yes, it is definitely different. We won’t be traveling home to New England to see family instead we’ll be staying home for a much more quiet meal. Holiday shopping has gotten much quieter and while we still shop local to support our community the odds and ends that can’t be found will be found on the internet and shipped directly. So needless to say it’s been a much quieter year, no concerts, craft fairs, or festivals, but there has been some great intentional conversations with family that doesn’t always happen and because of this I get to my list of things I’m thankful for.

1. I’m thankful for my partner, he supports me and believes in me 100% and is the sounding board I need when things feel overwhelming and the warm hug of encouragement when I get discouraged.
2. I’m thankful for my mom and dad, they truly have been great guides, supporters, and believers in me and have taught me some great life lessons.
3. I’m thankful for my clients and my business, for the first time in my life I can say I truly love what I do, I feel like I really make a difference, and my clients (each and every one) are all amazing people that I feel blessed to work with.
4. I’m thankful for nourishing and tasty food this holiday season, so blessed to live in an area with many farms and markets.
5. I’m thankful for my faith, because honestly during this pandemic it could be really easy to get overwhelmed and stay inside, with fear and panic, but instead I believe that loving others (treating them the way I want to be treated by following safety precautions and being mindful of my activities) is the way to muster through this.
6. I’m thankful for the community we live in and all the small businesses that are there for their community but also for their fellow business owners. I feel truly blessed to own a company located in this community.
7. I’m especially grateful for all the emergency responders, health care workers, mental health workers, national guard members and volunteers that have been showing up day after day and their families. Because I know first hand what it is like to be doing the work, and also what it feels like to be the family waiting at home worrying and wondering when you’ll return.

Are there things that you are challenged with this holiday season? Maybe it’s missing seeing loved ones after a long year, or perhaps not sure what life/work is going to look like know that all kids are back home doing virtual learning. Perhaps you are celebrating your first holidays without loved ones and the idea of them not being here is too overwhelming. Perhaps you are starting to wonder what you need to do next or maybe your are simply overwhelmed with stress. If you like to see if coaching could help you get some order to your thoughts so that you an figure out what your next steps should be then reach out to us, or perhaps you’ve noticed that you have this pain that simply will not subside and when you think about how it started it wasn’t a physical thing but perhaps an emotional loss. Wishing you all happy, healthy, holiday season and so thankful to you for taking the time to check out my blog.