The holidays are a tricky time. Family, friends, traffic, busy stores, budgeting… It is all quite overwhelming. This year my family and I stayed home. My mother came for Thanksgiving to visit, but stayed in a hotel. At first I had pangs of guilt about this, but then I thought- why not? Why not ask for my space to stay my space, and physical boundaries to be present so we can have a more enjoyable time together. Often times we put ourselves in uncomfortable situation out of guilt, shame, or doubt. Over the past few months I have done so much internal work on myself, I vowed to always speak up when I need to, and stand firm when I have true needs. This was one of those times. Result- we both enjoyed ourselves, our space, and our time together so much, we plan on making it a tradition!