Feeling the holiday rush? Let me pull you aside for a moment of candid reflection; because, let's face it, the festive season can be equal parts enchanting and exhausting. In this heart-to-heart, I bare my soul about the upcoming winter break, sharing the joy and the jittery nerves as my husband and I put a new spin on our Christmas tradition. It's a tale of breaking the cycle of overwhelm by leaning into support and embracing the restorative power of rest—something many of us, especially us hands-on mothers and ardent workers, often resist. Prepare to feel a kinship and maybe even a lightbulb moment as I recount how reaching out for help isn't a sign of weakness but an essential step to enjoying the true spirit of the holidays.
As the year draws to a close, I'm buzzing with excitement to reveal a collaborative co-workshop that pairs my coaching insights with the organizational magic of a professional dynamo. This hands-on experience is designed not just to inspire but to ignite real change, and I'm practically giving away seats with a special rate and an early bird discount. If the price tag makes you hesitate, don't let it stand in your way—reach out, and let's make it work for you. And as we approach the finale of this episode, please receive my warmest holiday wishes, whether you're decking the halls or simply unwinding into the new year. Join us for a conversation that's all about honoring your need for downtime and getting a head start on a transformative journey.
Hello and welcome to the Special Names Mom podcast. I'm recording this episode just a few days before my kids go on their winter break and I'm really excited about this break. Obviously, christmas is coming, I celebrate Christmas and it's a fun holiday. I enjoy it and I feel like what we are planning to do, it just sounds like it's gonna be a good plan. Actually, one of the things that I'm like that was genius is I. Couple days ago it wasn't that long ago I asked my husband because I was kinda looking at the holidays and like, dang it, I feel like there's so much work between me and the rest I really want. And so I was like, hmm, what shall we do about this?
Speaker 1:
Kira and I came up with the idea that I was gonna ask my husband to be fully in charge of food, like meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, cause, like other meals are not too complicated. I think I mentioned last episode that we use hungry roots, so like we've kinda got that down, but these meals feel like they should be special or we want them to be special, and so we put a little bit more energy into it. We make some kind of traditional dishes and whatnot. So I thought you know what, I am not the only one that can do that. And so I asked my husband and he's totally willing to take it on. And it was actually really funny cause even as I did that, I was like ooh, that's a lot to ask of somebody. But then I had to like slow my roll. I was like wait a second though. Like you've done all this, you had no issues doing it and you just automatically did it, so like why should there be any issues with another person doing the same thing? So I've let that go, and although I did say, and can you make sure to make this, because I really want it, we make this butterscotch pudding. It's so good. Let me know if you want the recipe. It's so good. I'm not even like a pudding person, but this is really good. We also never have butter scotch and we never have scotch, and so we call it butter whiskey pudding in my house, which we think is kind of funny. Okay, where was I going with this Genius idea? Looking forward to break and the whole. So I wasn't gonna record this episode. I wasn't gonna. I wasn't gonna record this episode.
Speaker 1:
I had planned to release back to back two different episodes that were really popular. They were a little bit ago, just so I could have a little bit more break. But yesterday, as I was getting ready for the workday, I and I had yet another kid homesick. I was listening to a book, actually, and the book inspired me to kind of notice some areas that I was like I don't want anyone to see this, and particularly it was because I found myself so excited to rest.
Speaker 1:
But here's the part I really wanted to share but feeling like I wasn't supposed to need rest from work that I loved, which is this, like me here with you, I love it and I love coaching and it generally, and it energizes me, right. So, like it's actually like really great work, but yet I want some rest. I wanna take a little bit of a break where I'm not doing the things that I normally do and I think I'm at a point where, like I really need it, I need a little rest at this point. And so I had this kind of moment where I was realizing, oh my gosh, like I have some deeper roots, if you will, if you will, of disempowering beliefs about needing rest or what I should or shouldn't do or be, and I thought it was really interesting that I found myself literally ashamed of wanting and needing a break. I thought, wow, I'm like kind of surprised, but also a little bit embarrassed, and that's why I'm bringing it to you.
Speaker 1:
One, because shame literally can't exist in the light. Like shame is when you're hiding. And I was like I don't wanna hide this because probably I'm gonna be willing to bet I'm not the only one. I'm like for sure, not the only one, and whether you find that you relate exactly to this or it's something else, that you're like, oh man, like I'm not supposed to feel like this. I just invite you to recognize but you do, so you are supposed to feel that way, and I was, you know, as I was kind of having this moment of realization, I was thinking, oh no, like I have this subconscious now becoming conscious, messaging that I shouldn't need rest, that I should power through that for whatever reason, like I was supposed to be different than everybody else in the world, and I was like, oh man, I really hope that I haven't kind of misrepresented or mismodeled what it looks like to be like real and authentic and a human and, yes, a coach, but also a client, and so I thought it was, particularly for that reason as well, like important for me to share it, for me to be like, okay, looks like we still have some work to do in trying to figure out how to, in trying to figure out how to share authentically but not, might I say, irresponsibly.
Speaker 1:
So I think we've all had people come and share and we're kind of like, oh, wow, that feels like it would have been better shared with, like somebody that is truly there to support you, versus you know, a nice casual conversation. So so now I guess we know what I'll be working on working. But so now I guess we know what I'll be working on in 2024. And I thought I also kind of map this to to where you might find yourself and, like I said earlier, like I deeply love the work I do, I feel so privileged and, gosh, wow, like I just it's work I'm created for. And you might feel the same way about either your work that you get paid for or your work as a mother and a caregiver. You might find yourself like really needing a rest, wanting a rest, wanting to kind of get away for a little bit, and you might find yourself thinking that you shouldn't, because it's a role that you loved.
Speaker 1:
Like I was kind of further contemplating this even last night and I I guess I'm still trying to make sense of it Like how this is interesting, how I'm kind of grappling with the idea of trying to rest from something you love and or wanting and needing, and kind of being desperate for, if I'm honest, and I was like so it was like I don't know, like seven or eight at night I was showering, getting ready to like wind down for the night, and I was like, okay, if someone said I have tickets to Disneyland right now, do you want to go? Like would I go? And I was like, no, I think I would want to be like I'm good here, thanks. I'm like, why don't I get my jammies on? And so I was kind of using that for my own self because, like I really like Disneyland, I like love it. I really wanted to go this year, but we decided it wasn't in the budget, so maybe next year. And so I was like, okay, so that makes sense, that like I would pass up on something I love because it's not what I needed right then. Okay, so I don't know. I thought that was helpful for me to even kind of further contemplate and just make sense of it in my head. Okay, well, where were creatures designed for rhythms, for rests, for seasons? And so I'm going to be embracing this rest, and I think I'm particularly excited because not only do we get to take this break from school and celebrate holidays, but my husband and I are going to get away to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. So we really are going to get actual rest because we're leaving our kids for a few days, and I'm very thankful to the people that are making it possible for us.
Speaker 1:
Okay, well, this is a little bit more casual episode, as I'm sure you could tell. Normally I, like you know, have notes and think through, and in this episode was really more of a few scribbles on a piece of paper, but I think, appropriate for this time of year. And what I was going to mention at the beginning of this that I forgot to is that my friend Angela and I are doing what we're calling a purge party. You might have heard about it in the introduction when you started this episode. So, angela, you haven't gone to hear her episode yet. Her episode that she and I recorded is going to be coming out January 10th. We recorded it. Gosh, probably even a couple months ago.
Speaker 1:
But I was like, oh gosh, I feel like this is like the perfect episode to start the beginning of the year. It's not like rah-rah, like let's make goals and resolutions, it's really just a very helpful episode. And so after we recorded, we're like, oh my gosh, like we should do something together. This is so fun. And so we created what we're calling the purge party and it's going to be January 27th, which is a Saturday, and for you all here on the West Coast it'll be eight o'clock, so it's just two hours. Eight to 11, or central time would be what? 10 to 12? And then East Coast, 11 to one. So I think it works for everybody, or it should generally work for everybody.
Speaker 1:
And the idea here is like she's a professional organizer Y'all know I'm a coach and between the two of us, the way we support you all you're going to get to like it's kind of what I'm calling a co-workshop where you're going, it's like you're going to be doing the work, but also like very supported.
Speaker 1:
So I think it's going to be really fun and we're offering it for $40. And before the end of the year we're offering $5 off. So if you want to sign up. Get your spot now and you can do that. There's a link on the show notes that you'll be able to find it, so that'd be really fun to see you there and I feel like, hopefully it feels accessible. If it doesn't, if you're like I want to go, but actually that's not something that's within our reach right now financially. Please reach out. I would never want a financial constraint to stop you from getting what you want and need. Okay, well, with that, I'm going to sign off and say Merry Christmas for those of you who celebrate, and happy New Year. I'll see you on the other side.