When we were first married, the holidays were a really stressful time for us. We went to 5 different Christmases at 5 different houses.
We wanted to spend as much time as we could with our family, and we didn’t want to disappoint anyone, so we made it happen.
We were trying our best, but as soon we had to leave somewhere, there was always at least one comment that made us feel guilty.
We knew that they intended well and we truly are thankful that our family loves us enough to want us around.
But we would still leave the house feeling so discouraged because, in reality, Jesse and I had spent absolutely no time alone together; we were simply trying to accommodate everyone else.
Then we hit a turning point.
I remember the day like it was yesterday. Our son Sutton was 1-1/2 years old and we rushed home a ridiculous number of times to pick up food and gifts to take to the next house. And then the next house. And then the next.
Jesse decided on our final trip home that night that he pretty much despised the holidays and it made me so sad. He had always loved and looked forward to them when we were dating.
We were stressed out with each other and far from ‘merry.’