Kickapoo Valley Reserve, Driftless Area, Wisconsin
Caring for Yourself
We have covered gift giving and given thought to our children’s emotions. Now it’s time to focus on your needs during the holiday season. For more ideas, I would also direct you to the blog post Taming Transitions for Parents.
We acknowledge the holidays can be happy and hard at the same time. We need a plan on how to care for ourselves during the holidays. Do not wait until you are alone on Christmas Day with no idea of how you are going to spend the day.
Plan Ahead
The kids leave to go to the other parent’s house. The house is eerily quiet. I admit at times to going into the kitchen and mindlessly eating to fill the void I felt. Therefore, I started going for a winter hike on Christmas Day morning as soon as the kids left.
I can also advise you what not to do while out on a winter hike! For whatever reason, one year, as I was out for a snowy hike, I thought it would be poetic to walk beside the river and quote Psalm 23 (you know, He leads me beside quiet streams).
However, it was quite icy and I fell – hard. God was with me because I did not fall in the water or break anything, but I had bruises for a few weeks. Somehow I found humor in the incident, like an inside joke between God and me. It actually lightened the mood.
Maybe a hike is not “your cup of tea”, but put some thought into what you can do. Read a book by the Christmas tree lights with a cup of tea, volunteer, or host a meal for others who may not have family to celebrate with.
Feed Your Spirit Instead
I cannot count the number of times I have sat down with God feeling empty and discouraged, but once reading His word, I arose from that same spot filled with hope and unexplained peace.
Go Alone?
Do you go alone to your church or your relative’s house? This is a question I cannot answer for you. It depends where you are on the journey. What I can tell you is that others should respect your decision.
Some years I felt like I just needed to be alone. Some years I did not feel like going, but afterwards, I was glad I went. I cannot lie to you and say it was ever easy.
For me, personally, whenever I did something without my family around the holidays, it felt like something was missing.
Assess Your Feelings Around Holiday
We all have had different experiences growing up. Those experiences are still with us. This could be a whole another blog, but I recommend listening to the podcast by Dr. Alison Cook, Finding God through Your Feelings where she addresses how to deal with tough emotions during the holiday season.
For a listening experience that is gentle on the soul, Planted in the Psalms, is a podcast where Lauren Iseli reads and talks about each Psalm.
Since we do not often eat white potatoes, sweet potatoes are our go to carbohydrate for many meals. The original recipe I modified was high in sugar. I replaced the sugar with maple syrup. For extra sweetness, you can add a small amount of coconut sugar. Although we have this often, it has become a must for Thanksgiving dinner.
Explore more holiday links below.
