The Week Between Christmas & New Year’s Eve Is For The Moms

It’s over. The anticipation, the excitement, the countdown — it’s all done, and it’s all strewn about your living room. It’s hard not to feel bummed about it, especially when you’ve poured so much into everything. But the one thing that keeps me from spiraling into a post-holiday meltdown is remembering that this week is just for me, that the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is for all the moms.

Because honestly, this isn’t just about Christmas. The moms have been steadily going since mid-September.

We’ve been putting up decorations, taking them down, and then putting new ones up again. We’ve made grocery lists for our normal weeks, and then entirely different lists for holiday parties and dinners. We’ve made side dishes and desserts for every holiday gathering we’ve attended. We’ve shopped for gifts and for stockings and for teachers. We’ve crafted and we’ve baked and we’ve planned. We’ve watched everyone’s favorite holiday movies and bought everyone holiday pajamas and outfits. We’ve been planning traditions and making room for new ones, and through it all, we’ve made it to every basketball game, band concert, and work meeting.

And now we get to just breathe.

This is the week of soaking in family time without rushing to pick up just one more bag of chocolate chips. This is the week of watching *your* favorite movies without making sure you have time for one more viewing of The Grinch. This is the week of everybody piecing their own meals together from leftovers and frozen pizza and yogurt cups. This is the week of softness and slowness, of the actual tidings of comfort and joy.

Like seriously, think about everything you’ve been doing for the past three months. It’s no secret that every mom thinks of the past three months as a major pillar of their kid’s childhood memories. And building all of that up? It takes so much work. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun or that you didn’t enjoy it, but it’s exhausting… and this week is all about taking a moment for yourself. For breathing slower, for going on walks without thinking about the gifts you need to order, for making a snack without worrying if you’re on holiday party duty at the preschool, for reading a book without stressing about all the wrapping you need to do.

Nobody needs a costume right now. Nobody needs a candy cane hat for spirit day right now. Nobody needs to carve a pumpkin or thaw a turkey or wash Christmas jammies.

Christmas break has always felt like the prize at the end of the -ber months for me. All of the weeks have been full of joy and memories I never want to forget, but this week of staying in pajamas without guilt and really soaking in everything you created is the best. The hectic go-go-go part of Christmas and the holiday season is done, and now it’s just you, relishing in all the work you poured into your family. You actually get to see the fruits of all your labor — your kids happy and content, your family feeling full and satisfied — and you get to pat yourself on the back.

Because holy sh*t, you did it.

You weren’t sure if you were going to get it all done. You had waves of joy and panic every week since October. Some days you were ready to say f*ck it and give it all up. Some days you were baking endless batches of homemade cookies and keeping up with the laundry.

Now, you just get to be.

So take a deep breath. Pour chips into a bowl and count it as lunch. Drink all the coffee you want and let someone else handle the dishes. This is your time to reset, breathe, and regulate.

This week is just for you.