Holiday Blues: Chapter 1
A Nanny Guide To Holiday Blues
Welcome to Chapter One: ACKNOWLEDGING your feelings
LET’S DIVE IN.
Acknowledge Your Feelings
The holiday season is a time for warmth, togetherness, and creating cherished memories with loved ones. Yet, for many nannies, distance might separate them from family and friends during this special time.
As an Au-Pair who lived in Italy for two years, I GET THIS. It’s a balance of knowing you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be and ALSO a deep loneliness from being away from people you love. And the often ignored reality of our social media obsessed world that makes us feel crazy if we experience sadness or loneliness being in beautiful places doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing… because how can you be sad in Italy?
If you feel this, you aren’t crazy, you’re human.
Today, we’re talking about acknowledging your feelings, something I’m notoriously…growing in! Three cheers for growth, let’s talk about feelings.
permission to feel
When you're far away from family and friends, especially during the holiday season, it's natural to experience a range of emotions—loneliness, sadness, longing, or even a sense of disconnectedness. Instead of pushing these emotions aside, allow yourself to recognize and accept them.
Acknowledging your feelings doesn't mean dwelling on them indefinitely. Instead, it's about giving yourself permission to experience and process these emotions. By acknowledging what you're feeling, you're validating your own experiences and allowing yourself to begin the process of addressing them.
Self-reflection
One way to acknowledge your feelings is through self-reflection. Take some time to sit with your emotions, think chillin with the Inside Out characters! Write in a journal, talk to a trusted friend, or simply spend a few moments in quiet contemplation. Understanding and accepting your feelings can provide clarity and help you find healthier ways to cope. My favorite thing about writing it down is to be able to look back and remember the victories that have come in the past. What feels like a mountain today, might just seem like a little hill in the future.
Balancing the both/and
Acknowledging your feelings doesn't mean that you're disregarding the joy and significance of your role as a caregiver during the holidays. It's about balancing your emotions, recognizing the complexities, and allowing yourself to be present for the children you care for while also tending to your emotional well-being.
You can be both satisfied and sad.
You can be content and feel a deep ache for home.
You can acknowledge the many good gifts in your life and still long for things that aren’t possible right now.
And it IS, in fact, possible to be in a beautiful place, in a job you love, and still long for somewhere else.
Both. And. The less we fight that they live in unity with each other, the sooner we will begin to live our life recognizing that what is in front of us is beautiful, and what is waiting for us will be ours when the time is right.
If no one has told you today…
What is in your hands right now, was made just for you.
Don’t try to pass it off because you feel unqualified.
Don’t try to overlook it because you want to see what everyone else has.
Take a deep breath. Hold on to it while it’s yours. Be thankful for where you are. Go, run. You got this!
Just so you know
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Just so you know 〰️
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