Hello, folks, and happy #MummyMonday! I trust that you enjoyed a relaxing festive week and took time for yourself. I had three days off work and spent time with friends and family, caught up on sleep, and continue to rest in-between my shifts at the discount retail store where I work.

And now we are heading into 2025, how exciting! I must admit that this year I have been a little cold towards the Christmas season. Usually, the magic has me excited and brings out my inner child but this year I just felt tired and defeated by the world. It was a real struggle to keep cheerful for my children, and they noticed that my mood had changed. It was probably not our best Christmas, but it certainly wasn’t unpleasant.

Let’s explore how it feels when you simply do not enjoy the Christmas season, and you cannot bring yourself to be excited for New Year’s Eve when the whole world seems to be celebrating.

How to have a Happy New Year

How do you feel today? I am ok. I am living with vertigo right now, and that was diagnosed in December. I have managed to continue working despite my GP offering to sign me off sick. I just didn’t feel ill enough to justify time off, especially when we are short staffed, and I knew that my colleagues needed my support. Instead, I have made time to rest at home when I’m not at work, channelling Reiki healing energy.

Typically, this has been my busiest Christmas season socially, with planned activities and events every weekend in the month before Christmas Day. But now we have finally spent a whole weekend at home without having to go anywhere or do anything, and that feels good. I am now looking forward to our family tradition of spending New Year’s Day at Talacre Beach in North Wales. It is a dog-friendly beach with a beautiful old lighthouse that captures my imagination, and my family and I feel so much better when we embrace the chilly sea air and walk along the beach. Then we spend an hour in the amusement arcade before a steady drive home. It’s all about the simple pleasures.

How do you feel?

We don’t all enjoy the chaos of Christmas and New Year. Many people struggle without their usual daily routine (like my husband), and it can leave then grumpy and irritable. Others may have trauma associated with the holidays, and they just want to get through the season. However you feel about celebrating Christmas and New Year, it is absolutely fine. If you want to continue as normal and not make a big fuss, do that. If you want to go all out, decorate your home, throw a party, indulge in treats, do that. This week for me is mostly about regular routine around my children being off school. And I am ok with that.

No Grand Plans for 2025

I have no grand plans for 2025. I know that I cannot force people to read my books, and I am not going to become a famous author overnight. It will most probably never happen in my lifetime. But I continue to write my books, to publish my books, and to attempt to share them at events and online. It makes me happy. There are challenges in my day job that I plan to address and try to improve my situation there. And we have ongoing challenges as a neurodiverse family. We will move slowly into 2025 and carry on as usual. Happy New Year!

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