I’m still riding the high from Christmas morning, but I’m also feeling the weight of what it took to make it all happen.
What most people see are the smiles, the laughing, the magic in the room. What they don’t see are the late nights, the early mornings, the quiet stress carried alone so no one else feels it. The budgeting. The planning. The pressure to hold everything together while pretending it’s effortless.
There’s a cost to creating moments like that. It’s paid in sleep, energy, and sometimes peace.
Christmas doesn’t just happen. It’s built. Brick by brick. Sacrifice by sacrifice. And for many of us, especially parents, the stress comes from wanting to protect the people we love from feeling the strain we carry.
This year taught me that managing that stress matters just as much as creating the moment. Because if you break yourself in the process, the joy becomes something you survive instead of something you actually feel.
It’s ok to admit that it was hard. It doesn’t make you ungrateful. It makes you honest. You can love the memory and still acknowledge the weight that came before it.
If you are feeling that post holiday crash right now, breathe. You showed up. You did what needed to be done. The magic didn’t happen by accident. It happened because you carried it there.
Now is the time to tend to yourself the way you tended to everyone else. Rest a little. Release the pressure. Let the stress pass without turning it into shame.
The light of Christmas isn’t only in the morning itself. It’s in the resilience it took to get there.
Pause + Breathe
Find a quiet moment. Sit with your feet on the floor and your shoulders relaxed.
Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4.
Hold for 2.
Exhale through your mouth for 6.
Do that 3 times.
As you breathe out, imagine releasing the pressure you carried through the season. The planning. The responsibility. The unspoken expectations. Let your body catch up to the fact that the moment has passed and you are allowed to rest now.
Journal Prompts
Take a few minutes and write freely.
What parts of Christmas did I carry alone that no one else saw or acknowledged?
Where did I feel the most pressure to “hold it together,” and what did that cost me emotionally or physically?
What boundaries or adjustments would help me experience future seasons with less stress and more presence?
What did I learn about my own capacity, limits, and resilience this year?
This is not about being polished. It is about being honest.
Reflection
There’s strength in being the one who makes things happen, but there’s also danger in never slowing down to recover. Reflection is where you separate sacrifice from self neglect. It’s where you acknowledge both the love behind your effort and the toll it took on you.
You don’t dishonor the moment by admitting it was heavy. You honor yourself by telling the truth about what it required.
Today’s Practice
Do one thing today that signals to your nervous system that the season of urgency has ended.
It might be a walk without your phone.
It might be saying no without explaining yourself.
It might be taking a nap, stretching, or sitting in silence.
This isn’t laziness. This is regulation. You cannot pour from an empty cup.
Quote
You were never meant to carry the magic and the weight alone. Rest is part of the work.
Continue the Journey
If Today’s Light helps you slow down and reflect, consider subscribing so it’s waiting for you each morning.
No noise.
No pressure.
Just clarity, consistency, and space to breathe.
Recommended Reading
Carry the light forward.
Jeff