Aunty Acid

Moms, Don't Let The Holiday Pressure Get You Down!

Hey there, all of you moms out there!

Earlier this week, something happened to me that got me thinking about the most important thing to remember during the Christmas period, and I thought I'd share it with you.

It all happened while I was having coffee with my niece.

Unsplash | Nathan Dumlao

Suddenly, over her coffee, my niece said to me with tears in her eyes:

"Aunty, I'm stressing out!"

"Whatever’s the matter dear," I replied, concerned.

"It's the house, I'm panicking about the house."

"The house?" I replied, worried. "Is everything okay?!"

"Yep it's just the roof keeps falling down, the kids are upset, and I just don't know what to do…Christmas is ruined!"

I couldn't believe what she was saying, and quickly reassured her, "Well, you can all move in with me right away!"

Unsplash | Ryan Wallace

My niece just looked at me, with a confused look on her face, before saying, "Not my actual house Aunty, the kid's gingerbread house!"

And that's when the penny dropped. I couldn't believe that my niece was getting herself all in a twist about something so small!

"Just eat it!" I told her.

"I can't do that!" she said to me shocked, "It'll ruin Christmas."

"You can, and you won't." I said, "And the kids will love it."

This got me thinking about all the pressure moms put themselves under around this time of year.

Unsplash | Siavash Ghanbari

I wanted to take a minute to say to all of you moms out there, that I see you. I see how much heart you're putting into making Christmas special this year because this was the year your kid missed out on so much — be it school, parties, friends, you name it, they didn't have it.

I see you scrolling through Amazon late into the night looking for that one last perfect gift. I see you cutting tiny cucumbers late into the night for your elves' 'spa day.'

I see you all day thinking, thinking, thinking, and worrying, worrying, worrying.

Well, sit down mama. I have some news for you... It's okay!

Unsplash | Jonathan Borba

It's okay if you abandon that freakin' elf by day 8, or 9, or 10 — no really, I promise nothing bad will happen.

It's okay if you don't make Christmas eve boxes, it's okay if your ugly Xmas sweaters are from a store and not made by granny, it's okay if you don't have the matching pj's or the perfect Instagram shot, it's okay if you don't freshly bake gingerbread houses, or have a real tree.

Christmas is about whatever makes you and your family happy as one.

Unsplash | Kira auf der Heide

One day, when you're done with this part of your life, and your children are grown and far from home, they will look back and realize that the magic of Christmas was just a parent who loved and cared for them so damn much. That's what this holiday is about, togetherness and love, especially after such a long, and hard, year.

All my love,

Aunty Acid.