Surviving the Holidays as a Highly Sensitive Homschooler – Parting Thoughts
How is everyone holding up? For many of you the holidays are beginning to reach a crescendo, with Christmas a few days away. Maybe others of you are done for the most part – enjoy watching the rest of us run around like crazy people. 😉
My one parting thought before the wave of Christmas comes and takes me away with it–well, it sounds so cliche, but it’s true: When all is said and done, the best way to keep your head above water is to “remember the reason for the season.”
Whatever your holiday, there is an underlying reason it’s celebrated. When you are overwhelmed, or trying to figure out what activity needs to be dropped to make your day a little saner, remember those reasons. Make your daily choices geared towards them; drop your worry about things that don’t truly matter in the huge scheme of things. Like the fact that you have baked zero cookies so far and Christmas is two days away.
*ahem* *looking sheepishly off to the side*
Love. And that means yourself, too! I’m going to have a scary elf on the shelf come to your house and beat you with tinsel if I hear of you beating yourself up in any way, talking to yourself in ways you would NEVER talk to another human being, over how you are handling these stressful weeks. Because you are awesome, and you matter, you are inherently worthy and deserve better than any amount of verbal self-abuse. //steps off soapbox//
If all else fails, you can sneak away and look at cute pictures on Instagram. 🙂
I had a panic moment yesterday, that had nothing to do with the holidays, but everything to do with all of you, my awesome readers. Jamie Martin, a well known blogger, generously shared one of my posts (Thank you Jamie!). I was no longer a semi-hidden blogger. I was (am) so excited and terrified at the same time. “What if I can’t help them! We are all hurting so much some days, what can I do? I don’t have all the answers.”
My mind turned to an article I read recently, one that talked about holding space for others to feel their feelings, whatever those may be. Ah yes, THAT I can do.
Because some days, despite trying to get your sensitivity under control, even with copious self care, life is hard. Some days just suck. They are bad, they hurt. Sometimes you don’t even know why — the day didn’t seem out of the ordinary in terms of stressful events, but you are struggling. I get it. Oh boy, how I get it!
I guess it’s the nature of life. Just know I’m here for you, cheering you on, holding you up, letting you be you.
Many blessings on your holidays and always,
Amy
(sometimes full of warm advice, sometimes losing it on a regular basis)
4 thoughts on “Surviving the Holidays as a Highly Sensitive Homschooler – Parting Thoughts”
I’m one who found your blog through that share yesterday. And I am SO. GRATEFUL. “Homeschooling with my hands over my ears” here too, and oh, how I love that tagline! Because it means it’s okay that I feel that way, too. Such relief! Like you, I’m a highly sensitive, introverted, empathic woman (I promise I’m not just copying you, lol — although you said it better than I’ve ever been able to!), and I have thyroid/adrenal issues that make me also tired most of the time — or make my bucket pretty much perpetually full, to put it in terms I learned yesterday. 😉 I haven’t figured out how to empty my bucket yet, but I’m working on it. And finding a kindred spirit (or at the very least a kindred struggler) here who can put it in words helps more than I can say! “Sometimes you don’t even know why — the day didn’t seem out of the ordinary in terms of stressful events, but you are struggling. I get it. Oh boy, how I get it!” YES again. Thank you for being here, and for writing this blog! It is an answer to prayer.
Welcome! I have thyroid/adrenal “stuff” going on too. So glad we found each other, and thank you for the kind words! I did find a doctor willing to prescribe T3, which has taken a slight edge off my exhaustion. Slight. 🙂
Yes, I (finally) have a doc who gives me NDT and some hormone replacement. And my energy levels are vastly improved, really, but even vast improvement over “surviving” is still not where I want to be, lol. Caught between grateful and dissatisfied (trying to lean toward the grateful!)…and on a roller coaster through the holidays. Glad your doc is better than most who only do T4 (or nothing)! May your Christmas be full of peace and joy and energy and (at least a little) quietude! 🙂
Yours as well!