If You’re Carrying the Christmas Magic… Read This

The Story

I have a love–hate relationship with those memories that pop up on social media.

They always catch me off guard — usually when I’m between tasks, juggling five things, thinking about dinner, or reminding a kid to grab their shoes.

But the real reason they hit me so hard?
When my kids were little, I was in such deep survival mode that I didn’t know how to slow down long enough to actually feel my life.

We were older when we got married and had kids, and overnight I became both a wife and a bonus mom.

Then we had our first baby together…
…and one year later, while I was seven months pregnant with our second, we moved to another state.

Those early years?
A blur. A beautiful, exhausting, overwhelming blur.

This week, a memory from 2018 popped up — my son headed to his very first ugly-sweater party.

We couldn’t afford to buy one.
Not even a cheap one.

So I dug through a bag of hand-me-downs and found a sweater with some random animal on the front. Then I grabbed the little felt Christmas-tree decorations the kids use and hot-glued them all over the sweater like a mom on a mission.

He LOVED it.
He thought he looked like the coolest kid on the planet.

He had no idea we were struggling.
No idea his Christmas gifts — and his sister’s — were all secondhand that year.
No idea that I cried in the bathroom more than once because I wanted so badly to give them more.

He didn’t need “more.”

He needed me.
He needed presence over perfection. Love over labels. Magic over money.

And that memory reminded me that sometimes the simplest version of us is exactly what our family needs.

The Lesson

Here’s what I want to tell you as we step into this season:

✨ You’re allowed to block out the pressure and choose peace instead.

✨ You get to set the tone for your home — not commercials, not comparison.

✨You’re allowed to say no to anything that feels heavy or forced.

✨And you’re allowed to do something just foryouwithout guilt.

This time of year can be commercialized, complicated, and honestly heavy for a lot of women — especially the ones carrying the magic on their backs.

But it can also be a season of hope, of small resets, of choosing what truly matters.

So here is my wish for you:
That you carve out one moment for yourself.
Listen to that podcast.
Read that chapter.
Take that walk.
Buy yourself something for your own stocking (because let’s be real — the magic makers rarely get a surprise of their own).

My deepest hope?
That sometime between now and the new year…
you feel a spark come back. Even a tiny one.

You deserve that.

A Gentle Peek at What’s Ahead

I want you to know: if you’re craving support, community, and a fresh start… you’re not alone.

On February 1, I’m opening a small group coaching experience inside Modern Matriarch — a blend of:

✨ our full VA Foundations course

✨ live group coaching

✨ community support

✨ gentle accountability

✨ and a path to build income from home without losing yourself in the process

I’ll be welcoming a very small group of women to walk with me through the beginning of the year — slowly, intentionally, and with the kind of support I wish I had during those early seasons.

More details are coming soon, but if you want to be the first to know, reply “February” and I’ll make sure you’re on the early list.

Until Next Week

Your kids don’t need an Instagram holiday.
They need you, just as you are.

You’re doing better than you think.
Take a breath. Take a moment.
And if no one has told you lately:
You’re a good mom.

With love,
Lindy

PS. If you're wondering what that ugly sweater looked like, here it is!!