A Queen's Opinion Podcast
A Queen’s Opinion is a podcast that allows people, especially women, to think aloud about life situations and seek an opinion without being judged. No more thinking about or questioning a situation by yourself. Ask the Queen.
A Queen's Opinion Podcast
Holiday Blues
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We explore how grief and gratitude can coexist during the holidays, and how small, intentional choices can protect family memories without denying pain. We share three simple principles to reframe the season and practical ways to stay involved, present, and emotionally honest. Listen, share it with someone who needs a gentle nudge toward hope, and subscribe for more conversations that help you step out of your comfort zone and into your queen zone.
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Welcome And Holiday Blues Question
SPEAKER_00The views and opinions expressed on this podcast or website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of a Queen's opinion. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.
SPEAKER_01Welcome to a Queen's Opinion. My name is Queen. My boy, my opinion, and you're listening. Holiday blues.
What Thanksgiving Brings To Mind
SPEAKER_01Is there a way to shake off the holiday blues? What do you think when someone says Thanksgiving is coming up soon? Well, I asked a couple of people what comes to mind when they think about Thanksgiving. I received many of the same responses: family, eating, thankfulness, and blessings. I too think of these four responses when I think of Thanksgiving. When my children were younger, we set around planning the holiday schedule. Family, hanging out, talking about good times we had during the holiday season. These things bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart. Every year we get to celebrate Thanksgiving, creating a new memory for the grandchildren. So one day they will sit around with their families, talking about their good old days with Graham Graham and Paw Paw.
Grief Seasons And Family Dynamics
SPEAKER_01I can talk about Thanksgiving nowadays, but there was a time in my life where celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas were very hard on me emotionally. The coming of the fall with Thanksgiving and Christmas would put me in a dark place just a few short years ago. I wouldn't say that I'm out of the ballpark of those sad days, but I will say they are less traumatic for me because I have my grandchildren now. November is a hard month for me because this is the month that my mother and sister passed, and thinking about happy times is hard for me to do. Not just because they passed away, but all the things surrounding their departure and how family dynamics played a huge part in the situation of celebrating Thanksgiving. During this dark time in my life, I couldn't find anything to be thankful for. So I'm sure I put a damper on the holidays for my children and my husband. They tried and they still do try to ensure that I am not falling back into my sadness.
Acknowledging Feelings And Seeking Support
SPEAKER_01Holiday depression is real for many people. I would at this point try to say something that will help my listeners deal with the feelings and memories that put us in this dark space. But I have nothing to really offer you except for saying that you should acknowledge your feelings and talk about what you're feeling with your loved ones and accept the love you are being shown by the people in your life. It is not easy to talk about old memories that were warm and fuzzy and fun because the holiday is missing the people I love. Yes, I do have my children, grandchildren, and my husband here with me right now. And I am so thankful, grateful, and blessed to have them in my life. But it's something about this holiday that really puts me in tears because I miss my loved ones, my mother and my sister. People say they're here with you. They know you love them and miss them, but they want you to be happy. It is these words that I try to stay focused on during holiday season. I tell myself they miss me too, and they want me to be happy. So I try to be happy during the holidays.
Choosing Joyful Participation
SPEAKER_01Holidays are hard, but I realize that I can change how I display my sadness and pain to others by sharing positive thoughts and memories from the past with others. I realize that when I am not happy, that I am impacting the memories for my family and putting an imprint on their holiday memories. So I work through my sadness by participating in joyous events with them. I like to cook with my family and my grandkids. I like to try new recipes with my granddaughters, play new games and stay up late with them. We dance to their music and play Mario Kart or whatever games my grandsons want to play. I keep my mind focused on their happiness, and that gets me through the holidays. Listeners, I wish I had something witty or smart to shake off the holiday blues, but I don't. All I have are these words of encouragement.
Three Refocusing Principles For Holidays
SPEAKER_01One, we are blessed to see the holiday season again. There will come a time when there will be no more holiday seasons, and we don't want to leave a sad memory for our loved ones. I tell myself that I am blessed because I was given one more day to fix the issues in my life, one more day to acknowledge God's beauty on this earth. He gave me a day I will never see again. Two, we must remember the word holiday meaning, which is a day especially dedicated to religious observance or religious festivities, a religious festival or a holy day. A holy day. That's what the Oxford Dictionary tells us. We should remember the purpose of the holiday and less about material things in our lives. The holiday is about getting in touch with our feelings and reflecting on our life and recognizing our blessings. We should try to make the holiday as festive as we can for everyone in our lives. Three, we want to leave our family with positive memories. We only want to leave happy, warm, fun memories of sharing the holiday together as one big happy family. Everything we do on this holiday creates a memory, whether we are prepping the food for the family, allowing the grandkids to help with the dishes or creating a game out of cooking, serving the men with their favorite football snacks, have the whole family play a game of one, two, three red light so we all can participate. Whatever keeps the family smiling, happy, laughing, and feeling love from each other will create the best memories for everyone. We should be thankful for all the blessings we have in our lives. We have our children, parents, grandchildren, our family members, friends, church family, co-workers, neighbors, and many others in our lives that bring us joy. We should be thankful and grateful for all the love in our lives. We should be thankful for the time we had with our departed loved ones too. Thankful for the time we shared with them when they were here on earth. We should be thankful for the roof over our heads, the food on the table, the clothes on our backs, the shoes on our feet, the air we breathe, the function of our body, and the life we have here on earth. Listeners, I wish I had a magic peel for the holiday blues, so both of us could take a peel and skip the sadness. I don't.
A Commitment To Thankfulness
SPEAKER_01But I made up my mind that this holiday season I am going to walk into the holiday with a spirit of thankfulness, a mind filled with blessings, and a heart filled with love. My emotions will exhibit caring, engagement, and excitement for the time shared with me. This holiday season, I am going to be emotionally healthier. So join me in trying to move past the sadness and get into the holiday spirit. We will save the sadness for a rainy day. Come on, you can do it. Join me. Let's show some holiday spirit.
Closing Encouragement And How To Connect
SPEAKER_01This podcast is supposed to lift you up, encourage you to be the best person you can be, to inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and into your queen zone. I didn't say my opinion will solve your problems. I am not saying that I am right. But what I am saying is I'm going to give you another view of the situation from a distance. No more thinking or questioning a situation by yourself. Ask the queen. Go to our website, www.aceensopinion.com. And click on get in touch to leave your feedback or leave a question for the queen. Don't forget to like us wherever you get your podcast. Thank you for taking time out of your day. I hope you join me for my next episode. Until then, goodbye.