Parenting in the Pause for the New Year!

Good morning, Cadre world. It is Dr. Jessica Green, and I cannot believe we are heading into 2026. I looked at my cell phone this morning when I woke up, and I'm like, wow, today is December 31st and tomorrow is going to be the new year. And I'm like, you know, when we look back on this year, we think about those things that we have gratitude for, those things that might not have gone the way that we wanted them to go, but we remind ourselves of all the goodness that has happened in the year, giving ourselves grace.

Good morning, Speak Wonder. And allowing ourselves to be authentic, allowing ourselves to walk through those seasons and not avoid those seasons. So it has been a fantastic year. All right. And I'm going to try to keep in with everybody chiming in. And I see you all coming in now. And as we talk about the new year and last time we spoke, we spoke, we talked about that new cycle, right? The new cycle of the year, a new season, or even that moment where we feel as if something inside of us is whispering that it's time.

You know, it reminds me of a quote that says, you were made for a time like this. And Speak Wonder. I am so happy. Your 2025 was wonderful. And as we go into 2026, for you, the best is yet to come. And that's the affirmation, that's that positive talk that we're going to use going into 2026. So last time we talked about rest, we talked about renewal, and we talked about preparing for that next cycle, that next year, that next season. And us remembering when we talk about that, it's not from a place of pressure, but from a place of intention.

All right, so we have that intentionality there. And we know with society, we live in a world that celebrates the doing they celebrate the more productivity, where, you know, sometimes people go, go, go and do, do, do. They have all these goals. They keep pushing, but they're not allowing themselves to be in that moment and acknowledging that you are enough. And you cannot rush that renewal process. You cannot rush that reset. A lot of times we do not allow ourselves to be in that moment because we are rushing through and not allowing ourselves to rest.

And again, like we spoke about last time, rest is not a reward. That rest is a requirement so we can be our best selves for us and for everyone else. Yes, Speak Wonder. You were made for a time like this. And not to get off topic, but it reminds me of that resilience that we have. And I heard one of one of the coaches at the local university. Here he mentioned to his football team the acronym of WIN W I N. And he wanted them to focus on what's important now, what's important in this moment. If you pause what's important right now, not forgetting where we have been, but honoring where you are right now in this moment, realizing what's important now.

So as you go through your day, I want you to remind yourselves that it's okay to give yourself grace, and it's okay to take that deep breath where we slowly inhale and then we exhale and remember that our past season might have, like, stretched us. And I tell you what, for 20, 25, it has stretched me. I had some medical concerns, had great time, you know, with family. And sometimes we ask ourselves those things, is it worth it? You know, am I ready for this? And reminding ourselves, yes, you are.

You are where you're supposed to be. And it's important that we sit still acknowledging that we are not alone, but our body, our mind, and our soul deserves that acknowledgment. And when we think about rest, okay? And I'm hoping everyone's getting some rest tomorrow. But rest doesn't mean quitting. Rest means integrating, which means allowing your body, your mind, and your spirit to be able to catch up with everything that you are carrying. So when we rest, I don't want you to have any inappropriate guilt.

Oh, I'm sitting here. I should be doing this, I should be doing that. I should be doing something else. No, what you should be doing is allowing yourself to be in that moment. So I want you to ask yourself, you know, last time we had those three questions that I want you to focus on from the previous live. But today, I want you to ask yourself, what am I still holding that needs to be laid down? So what am I still holding that needs to be laid down? Where have I been running on E? You know, I'm going, going, going, doing, doing, doing.

You know, think about those moments where you have been running and we are running on empty. Well, we have that sense of fatigue. We have that sense of possibly even irritability because we're on E. And then what kind of rest do I actually need? You know, not what looks good, but what feels true. And it takes me back to our love languages, you know, making sure we know our love languages of ourselves, our children, our partners, our spouses, but even our co workers, you know, because your rest may look different than theirs.

You know, your quality time may look different than their quality time, but those are those things where you have that rest, and you're focused on what you actually need, not what looks good. Sometimes rest looks like sleep. You know, sometimes it looks like silence, and then sometimes it looks like boundaries. Yes, that B word, boundaries. Our ability to say no without any appropriate guilt. Our ability to say no. But then we also give them a recommendation of someone else. They may try. And you recognize whenever you have those rigid boundaries, because individuals may come to you, and they may not even say, hey, how you doing?

You know, they may say, hey, can you do this for me? And with sometimes with those individuals, you all may be friends and maybe together based on what you can offer them because you're filling their cup. But because those rigid boundaries, we're not pouring back into ourselves. Yes. Speak, Warner. Rest equals restorative. Absolutely. So when we think about renewal, renewal begins when you stop forcing things to happen and when you start listening to your body. So with this space, this space allows for you to return to some clarity.

But then we also remember who we are underneath that stress, underneath those expectations, and then underneath those many roles that we play, because sometimes we feel like we are super men and super women, and we wear that cape a lot. So as we prepare and look into 2026, as we look into our new season, I invite you to shift one question. Okay? So instead of asking, what do I need to accomplish? I want you to ask yourself, what do I want to be as I move forward? What do I want to be when it comes to that internal motivation?

What do I want to be? When we think about, you know, personal growth, mental wellness, work, spirituality, I want you to think about, what do I want to be as I continue to move forward and I continue to grow? Because growth that isn't aligned with your values, with your worth, they are going to feel exhausting. So as we participate in some of those activities, some of those roles, when we feel like we're exhausted, when we feel like we're on empty, that's a moment we need to think, hey, am I doing this?

And is it in the best interest of me? What am I gaining from this? And that will determine our growth, but then determine too, hey, I'm doing this. But is this really aligned with my values and who I am? So I want you to take a moment to reflect. Reflect on what energizes you or what energized you, you know, in 2025. So something that we can continue to do that's working, what drained you and then what do you carry? That is something that we can take and we can move forward. And then recognizing, hey, this is something that I need to start doing, but then this is something that I need to stop doing and leaving in that last season.

Because you don't need a full plan. All right. All right. You don't have to have all the answers, but we need to make sure we have that intention. And that intentionality is going to be extremely important. You being your authentic self is going to be extremely important. And you recognizing your values, recognizing your worth, not having to wear that mask, but then also taking off that Superman and Superwoman capes. So as you prepare for this new cycle, you know, it's not about reinventing yourself.

It's about returning to your true, authentic self. Returning to that best version of you that's rested, you know, that has been able to restore, refilling up our own cups. And that version of you that trusts your own pace and remembering you are the one who is writing this narrative, no one else. This process is going to be a marathon, and it's not going to be a sprint. So as you continue to move forward and you continue to grow, I want you to give yourself permission to be able to start small. So we're going to set those goals, move gently, giving yourself grace, and choose consistency over perfection.

And remember, when we think about progress, progress made in peace last longer progress when we're able to sit in that moment and recognize who we are and what is it that we want in life lasts longer. So before we close today, I want you to hear this clearly and I want you to take this into 2026. You are allowed to rest. You are allowed to reset. And you are worthy of entering this next season as your whole self and not being burnt out. So rest is productive. Renewal is powerful. And for your next cycle and for your next season, it does not need to be rushed.

We just need to make sure it is intentional. So thank you for listening. Have a happy new year. Be safe. And always remember to have compassion. Always remember to build connections and be able to hit that reset button and be intentional. Thank you for listening.