Emotions & Expectations During The Holidays

So, you know, here in the Pacific Northwest, a lot of people will go to a place to cut down their own Christmas tree. And, like, we want to make it a family event. There's usually hot cocoa and, you know, on a fire and whatever. But also there's this other thing in the Pacific Northwest in the wintertime called rain. And so usually rainy at the Christmas tree lot, and it's muddy and it's wet and my kids are whining. And I always get to this point. Well, not always, historically. I get to this point where like a Clark Griswold quote is running through my mind where he says, this is going to be the hap, hap. Happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap dance with Danny Bleepin K. Right. And he's got this raised look on his face. It's like, this is gonna be a happy Christmas. That's right. Right. And so I think. I think for me, there's like, there's so much expectation. Yeah. That it's gonna be good. Right. There's so much expectation that I'm. I'm going to be a good dad this Christmas. Right. That we're going to connect perfectly as a family. And I have the expectations mixed with the pain from my past of family and my broken family and Christmases being at different places. I have all that mixed in. And if I'm not processing it, then it's going to erupt on my kids in a moment where it's like I'm getting upset about them trying to find the perfect Christmas tree, as opposed to me that day earlier, understanding, oh, Bob, you're feeling stressed out. Like, make sure that you're just, like, taking some deep breaths and checking in and giving your kids the space for this to be like an adventure. Instead of you being so task oriented that you're not there to participate. It.