73. Behind the Magic — What You Carried This Holiday Season
Mothering Ourselves Mindfully · Sarah Harmon
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Show Notes
Happy New Year! In this first episode of 2026, I'm literally walking on water—or rather, on the frozen pond in front of our house—as I invite you into an important post-holiday reflection. Before we rush into the new year, let's pause and mine the gold from what just happened. This episode is all about what was happening behind the magic-making of the holidays—the mental load, the emotional labor, the inherited programming that keeps us caught in patterns we never consciously chose. I'm sharing personal reflections from my own season and introducing a question that will guide us into the new year: What am I ready to unsubscribe from?
Key Points
- Why we need to pause and reflect before rushing into the new year
- Reflection questions to uncover what felt light vs. heavy during the holidays
- The difference between traditions that nourish vs. those that deplete
- Understanding the mental and emotional load of "magic-making"
- How the holidays reveal patterns of over-functioning in mothers
- The cost of being the default calendar keeper, peacemaker, and emotional load bearer
- Why reflection without embodied integration keeps you stuck in the same patterns
- The connection between overwhelm and memory loss in mothers
- How awareness is just the doorway—the real work happens in the body
- Why we're releasing the Gregorian calendar's pressure and honoring the Chinese New Year instead
Reflection Questions
- What felt really light, nourishing, and genuinely joyful?
- What felt heavy, draining, or performative?
- When did I feel most alive and lit up like myself?
- What did I do out of expectation or "shoulds" rather than true desire?
- What boundaries did I hold or wish I had held?
- What am I clear I do NOT want to carry into next year's holiday?
- What felt meaningful enough that I want to repeat or deepen into it?
Quotes
"Every year we might say, 'Oh, I'm never gonna do this again' or 'Next year's gonna be better.' And then 365 days later... here we are again."
"There is some inherited ways of the behind the scenes of the holidays that we never actually signed up for. That we are literally caught up in the rapids of."
"Reflection without integration and embodied release is just you setting yourself up for being in the same patterns next year and just being more aware of them."
"The sooner we can do this, the more present we are in our lives, the more memories we actually have of these great moments with our kids."
"Your nervous system will choose a familiar hell over an unfamiliar heaven every time."
Resources Mentioned
- UNSUBSCRIBE Live Class - January 28th, 7:15-8:45pm EST: www.theschoolofmom.com/unsubscribe
- Send Sarah your voice note right here! https://www.speakpipe.com/theschoolofmom
What's Coming Next
Join me on January 28th for UNSUBSCRIBE—a powerful 90-minute embodiment experience where we'll go deeper than awareness and into the body where the patterns actually live. This isn't about managing your overwhelm; it's about releasing it at the root. We're collectively unsubscribing from inherited programming around guilt, resentment, rushing, and over-functioning. This is not a class to do with kids in the room—hire a babysitter, lock the door, maybe gather with a friend. It's free, but it requires your sacred presence and commitment. Let's start the year (the real one, which begins in February with the Chinese New Year) by releasing what's no longer in alignment with who we're becoming.
Thank you for tuning in to this episode of "Mothering Ourselves Mindfully." We look forward to sharing more insights and inspiration in the upcoming episodes!
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