Last night I headed over to my girlfriend’s house for some empathy.

You see, my boyfriend and I were having disagreements about the correct path for our relationship to take. This had gone on for a number of days (or months depending on how you count it) and my patience was up and the tears were a-flowing.

When we’d moved on to lighter subjects, she shared that earlier that day, while sitting around a table of four girlfriends, each in turn shared their holiday breakdown. How perfect that mine would round out the day!

The holidays are a time of stress and joy, hangovers and presents, holiday parties and heartache. They are chock so full of ups and downs that it feels like the few weeks last a year themselves.

This year I was so determined to do it right and stress-free that I started the presents spreadsheet before Thanksgiving and had most presents wrapped a week before Christmas. Even that level of preparation did not keep a breakdown at bay.

From now on, I will rest assured that each holiday season, there will be a breakdown. No matter how I mentally and physically prepare, it is a taxing season that lends itself to breakdowns.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. Let’s accept reality as is, shall we? Continue Reading