Last year was only the second time I cooked a Thanksgiving turkey and put together a family advent countdown calendar.
The SECOND TIME EVER IN NEARLY A DECADE OF PARENTING. Because that’s how long I’ve been sleep deprived.
Dear Moms of Littles, listen up here because this is for you — I know this time of year can be hard.
Because it feels like everyone around you is creating meaningful memories for their kids and you’re just trying not to yell at yours because you’re operating on, like, three hours of sleep and you’re so tired you can’t remember why anyone in their right mind would purposely engage in making cookies with tiny humans and risking FLOUR ALL OVER ALL THE THINGS.
I feel you, man.
That is where I lived for a decade.
Literally.
I have not done advent countdowns.
I have not beautifully decorated my house.
I have not bought Christmas-themed dishware or even paper napkins.
I have not made cookies, pies, or anything that even remotely stretches me outside the safe parameters of half-hour prep and no more than that for clean up.
But this year? This year I have emerged from the fog of sleep deprivation, and I wanted to write this to share with you precious, amazing, exhausted moms of littles that:
a) There is hope. You will make it through. You will. One day you will sleep again and it will occur to you that maybe making cookies with your kids isn’t the act of culinary torture you once imagined it to be.
b) In the meantime, make like Elsa and just, “Let it go.”
Seriously, give yourself grace in this season of grace to make it through simply with tempers intact. No grand countdowns required. No beautiful bonding over cookies and frosting. No handmade wreaths or daily crafts. None of that.
There are no advent police.
There are no family traditions enforcers.
There are no report cards given on the kind of memories you’re making.
Sometimes doing less is the best gift a tired mom can give her family.
If I’m speaking your language then click over here to keep reading the rest of the post. Because we exhausted moms gotta stick together!
YES YES YES YES!