Think about it on a positive note. If you wake up and get ready for the day thinking, “well today’s going to suck,” then you are already starting your day with a negative mindset. When I’m sad about going back and forth between parents on the holidays, I think how I am blessed to be able to see them instead of not being able to visit one of my parents at all. Plus, you get 2x the presents on Christmas!!!
Photo by: Kerrie Fitzpatrick. Sophomore Veda Reiser said, “Just focus on the good. There’s double the amount of people that are there that all want nothing but the best for you. There’s double the presents and double the love. There’s so many good things that can come out of something bad, so I recommend to focus on the good.”
Tip #2: Plan, plan, plan!!! It is so important to plan ahead what time you are going to your mom’s, and what time you will be going to your dad’s. Otherwise, when the time comes, you will be under so much pressure on who’s house to go to first. It will just put so much additional, unneeded stress on you. Planning ahead is an easy way to lower your level of stress and anxiety over the holidays. Plus, being put in the middle is never fun.
Tip #3: Try to be as flexible as you can be. Something that was so tough for me was having to get rid of traditions that my family had together. Change is always hard, especially when it’s between people that you love. To cope, it’s important to keep some traditions, but be open to making new ones. This way, you’ll make new memories.
Tip #4: Don’t let your parents put you in the middle. I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to leave the communication for your parents. The children shouldn’t be having to communicate. Being put in this position is just exhausting and sad. To prevent this, if a parent asks you to speak to the other parent, be polite and tell them that you won’t be put in this position.
Tip #5: Focus on the time that you DO have with your parents, rather than the time you spend apart from them. Stay in the moment while you are with them instead of focusing on the past, or the future. This way, you can leave all of your worries behind and focus only on the family time you do have.
Tip 4: Senior Trace Trempus said, “The hardest part about holidays when your parents are divorced is that your family is separated. It doesn’t feel right when one of your parents isn’t there to celebrate on Christmas and Thanksgiving especially when these holidays are geared towards families. It hasn’t gotten better for me over the years, but it has gotten easier to deal with.”Tip 3: “Why struggle? The holidays are a time meant to be spent with family, and to love one another. You’ll have time to be with your parent/parents at some point, so don’t get too worked up about it,” said junior Brant Durham.Tip 2: Freshman Hannah Rowe said, “I would say the worst part about having divorced parents around the holidays would be seeing numerous other families having fun and being so happy together. Since the holidays are mainly about being with family and spending time together, it’s kind of sad that I have to realize that my family will never be like that again. You always have to please both parents on these holidays by making sure that you spend equal time with each other, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. Overall, you eventually learn to cope with the fact that you want your parents to be happy. As you mature, you realize it is truly best for the family!”
Hello there fellow readers! I'm a teenager who writes for fun with some pretty big dreams. Jesus is my man and he's my #1 fan! I aspire to be a journalist someday writing in a poverty-stricken country, serving as a missionary as well. Fashion is pretty rad, and so is photography, and adventuring this pretty cool world. I enjoy writing about anything beauty, lifestyle, travel, news, mental health, or whatever is on my mind. Oh and I work at a Mexican restaurant and I love it! So now that you know a little about me, sit back, relax, and check out our newspaper!
