What to do when you're just not feeling it
What do you do when you want togetherness but you’re just not feeling it?
Fake it ‘til you make it? Try to convince yourself you’re feeling it? Numb out on Netflix? Give up? Surely there’s a better way.
Lately, I’ve been email-chatting with a few mamas about how it’s taking quite a bit of effort to feel Christmas-y this year. We know there's so much joy and family togetherness to be had in all things Christmas, but there’s some extra sadness hanging around right now, some social anxiety/awkwardness after being cooped up so long, some uncertainty, and maybe even angst.
I keep thinking the feeling will all of a sudden hit me one day, but it hasn’t.
I’ve made an effort to unplug for a happier holiday season. I’m stepping away from email more. I’m also giving social media the boot more, resting more, and trying so hard, but I’m just not feeling it.
I want that magical, mystical holiday cheer close families always seem to have in the movies, but it just isn’t here.
Can you relate?
If you’re struggling to feel it, here’s what I did this week that helped:
#1 - Cancel your plans and bake or make something with a kid
Skipping school to do it is totally allowed, or you can wait and do this on the weekend–whatever. We stopped school on Wednesday to bake a pumpkin pie and read books by the fire while it was in the oven, and I swear I saw a little bit of a sparkle in all of our eyes.
#2 - Watch a movie together while eating what you made
Again, I recommend canceling something less fun on your calendar to make this happen right away. Start with Home Alone and Elf and go from there.
If you have teenagers, they’ll probably say no if you ask them to watch a Christmas movie with you. Don’t ask. Just put it on the tv and plop down on the couch with your pumpkin pie and see what happens. (See? I told you we were going to get better at doing less!)
#3 - Get outside at your favorite park to remind you it's winter
(or if you're in the southern hemisphere, Florida, or Texas, just to enjoy nature)
Sometimes the chill in the air and the fresh smell of balsam in the forest is just what you need to kick you into the spirit.
I don’t have a lot of experience in this whole “real winter” thing just yet, but I fell in love with getting outdoors in winter at our place in Maine last year - so in love that I wrote an article about our year-round adventures in Acadia National Park and it was published in ROVA Magazine this month.
(You can get all the details and read the article right here - and you can see this week's hoopla about it on Instagram right here.)
What helps you get into the spirit when you’re just not feeling it?
I seriously want to know, so come on over to the email group and tell me.
P.S. Can I just say how much I love getting emails from you?
I do.
I don’t get nearly enough of them (I see you hiding out there), but when they come, they let me know I’m not just sending these togetherness tips into the void– they're going to real humans who really value them– and that makes me so happy.