The holidays, amirite?!

For some, they’re magic. For others, they’re merciless.

But no matter what side of the spectrum you fall on, it is a season of relentless pressure. Pressure to create magic holiday memories. Pressure to please others. Pressure to build positive momentum leading into a new year. Pressure to be present and revel in every little moment.  Pressure to relax. (Honestly, what world do we live in?!) So. Much. Pressure.

December 26th rolls around and we are all a mixed bag of exhausted, burnt-out, over-served, and ready for a break from our “break.”

Enter: The magical week between Christmas & New Year. 

A deep exhale after a month of holding our collective breath.

A big, warm hug at the end of a long year.

One lawless week where we don’t know what day it is or what our responsibilities are. Where we magically let go of all expectations of ourselves and are finally free to be self-serving.

Some of us curl up on the couch and don’t get up for a week. Some of us get busy & purge the literal and figurative clutter from our lives. But, regardless of WHAT we are doing, we all seem to give ourselves permission to do it peacefully.

We step into this week-long twilight zone of self-care.

Whether that is the tough kind of self-care where we evaluate our lives and strategize for the impeding year, or the soft kind where kick back with a book & the last of our spiked eggnog in front of the drooping Christmas tree. But we all do it. And we do it with a common calm that doesn’t exist outside of this one, magical week.

I know we’ve all heard of the magic of the holidays, but I’m a big believer in the magic AFTER the holidays.

All is calm. All is bright.

All is done. All is zen.

Amirite?!

P.S. For those of you who are with me, I feel like this week deserves its own name. What name should we give December 26-31? Let me know in the comments.