You Do You, Babe

I can be Mr. Holiday Magic Mike one minute, Scrooge the next and Wonder Years Michael the next, you?

Welcome to the holidays! Have you closed your laptop yet?

We’re entering that time warp. Maybe our packed calendars clear bit.  For a limited time only, who exactly cares what’s in our inboxes?  What day is it again? Did your productivity drop? Honestly, nothing’s going to happen anyway, what if we just exhaled and let things be?

If and when you get to this remarkable land of bliss, this place and you relax, sort of, you are not falling off your game. This is the game.

If you’re very, very lucky you’ll find yourself with time, even extra time, with loved ones, family and friends. Maybe you traveled to get there. This togetherness time can be pretty interesting. It includes the good, the tender, the hilarious and the deeply activating (triggering?). Moments of genuine connection and re-connection. Those shared meals and feasts. Telling old stories. Board games in the den. Movie marathons. Remembering the empty chairs of loved ones now gone. Unexpected from-the-gut laughter. Some tears? You will almost certainly suddenly recall exactly why “adult you” created that distance and those protective boundaries, explicit and implied, to survive.

Same people. Same week.  The whole spectrum of experiences, feelings, expectations.

You might feel grounded one minute and twelve years old the next. I know I do. I can be Mr. Holiday Magic Mike one minute, Scrooge the next and Wonder Years Michael the next.

You might be full of gratitude… and at the same time also…quietly counting minutes until you can step outside “to take a call.” Secretly, wishing you WOULD get an “urgent text”.

My sage advice, that literally no one requested….?

None of this requires fixing, adjusting, decoding, interpreting.

I am suggesting that you consider being sort of selfish this week. Indulge. Gorge on the memories and time with family, friends, loved ones.

But no matter what you actually do, keep that self-talking and self-soothing singing going, perhaps something like:

You do you, babe.

If “you” need rest, grab it.
If “you” need movement, walk, run, ride, ski, just do it.
If “you” need space, take it.
If “you” need to laugh it off and eat another cookie, savor it.

Give yourself permission this week:

·       Enjoy the good moments as they come.

·       Let the challenging ones move through you without becoming the whole story.

·       Step away when you need to, no drama (yes, even you my gay brethren).

And….

·       Like, why not for this one week, skip the self-improvement agenda entirely?

Let’s get into that holiday spirit, you all:

You do you, babe(s).