Today at the Lively house is the last day of virtual school for my sons. This semester has been incredibly challenging, stressful, frustrating, and scary. We are weathering it as well as we can and leaning on each other to get through.
As you start into this (hopefully) time off over the winter holidays, I hope you find time to connect with the young people in your lives. I'm trying to help mine focus on how hard they've worked and helping them realize that there are no real deadlines for achieving milestones. Every single one of us is figuring out our lives as we go along and doing the best we can. So parents, give yourself a break and know that you are learning and growing along with them. It's so easy to get stuck focusing on our mistakes, but apologies and love go a long way and are better remembered by our loved ones anyway.
Stress and pressure to achieve within a timeframe blinds us to the joy of the present and makes us lose sight of all that we have and have already achieved. We can celebrate being together, being a family, taking care of ourselves and each other without worrying about deadlines or achievement. We need to focus on love and forgiveness.
Our teens and young adults are enough just as they are, and we will do everything we can to love and support them as they grow and change no matter how many setbacks and disappointments (and pandemics) they encounter.
Happy Holidays.