A Flu and Germ Season PSA
Only TEN days to Christmas, y’all!
Holiday season is the most wonderful time of year.
It’s also one of the most stressful.
It’s ALSO one of the most germ filled.
Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas are already filled with stress of who goes where and when and trying to manage time well enough to see all the important people in our lives. With children, that demand can feel even bigger than when it did in our previous lifetimes of running around kid-free. I know these thoughts and issues go all the way back to the beginning of time, so I want to remind you of how you felt racking up the milage Christmas Day with your car full of children and new toys, just to make it to the next house late, only to be greeted with remarks about how late you are and how you’ve kept everyone waiting.
Yeah, remember how rough those holidays were on your sanity and your marriage?
I wanted to send out a public service announcement to all families to stop putting pressure on the younger generations to be at a certain place at a certain time. It’s crazy how we become other peoples pawns when it comes to planning our own holidays. It’s my Christmas, too. It’s my kids Christmas, too. It’s Christmas at Grandma’s and at your sister’s and at the in-laws and at your cousins in-laws…And I know that it’s yours, too. That’s why we give into the pressure.
Hold up. I just got super side tracked. That wasn’t even the real PSA here. What I meant to say: IT IS GERM CITY OUT THERE PEOPLE! Please do NOT say or do anything to your daughter, cousin, niece, son-in-law, step-brother, sister, friend, or otherwise, with the intention of making them feel bad/outcast/sad/guilty about not bringing their baby to the traditional holiday gatherings!
All of the stressors listed above are already weighing on new parents’ hearts about where to go and where not to go for the holidays. Throw a baby into the mix and it’s possible to desire spending Christmas at home, even more so. A common cold can be deadly to a child, but especially to babies under 9 months old or immobile babies. You know, that baby that we hold and squeeze and kiss and coddle… THOSE babies do not need to be at the holiday dinner or the family gift exchange, and the new parents do not need peer pressured with a guilt trip or any sideways comments to be present.
What you can do for a members of your family with babies:
Show love and understanding to families with small children.
Keep your hands and lips to yourself around small children.
If you must share your opinion, make sure it’s filled with grace and kindness.
Ask, instead of demand.
Put yourself in their shoes, or think back to when you were in their shoes.
A little “If you’d like to join us in our home this Christmas, what time works best for you?“ can go long way. And if you get a “No thanks we’re having Christmas in our own home this year.“ Be understanding and celebrate that decision with them, because I promise you it was a difficult one for them to make. Simply put, if we could all just treat others kind and good, and stay in our own lanes, life would be it’s best.
I hope your holidays are filled with love and kindness and that they’re spent doing whatever it is your heart desires, where ever it is your heart desires.
Merry Christmas, friends!