“Your job as a mom is to build a protective hedge around your family and not let them get stressed out and over-stimulated by all the ten thousand things”

• Being the magic makers: doing all the things • Creating happy memories not just of the holidays and of parents for your kids • Christmas cards – do you really need to send them? • Managing expectations – fantasy vs reality • Avoiding resentment • How to design the holiday you want to have – focus on the 3 Ms • What is YOUR mission? Separating that from expectations of others • Minutae –picking activities and details that support your mission • Move it – assess which activities that you can enjoy at another time of the year to focus on your mission • Elf on a Shelf – effectiveness as a behavior modification tool, another thing on your to do list • Giving yourself permission not to do the same things as everyone else – peer pressure • Focusing on the things that bring you joy • Taking the “shoulds” out of the season

What does Joyful Courage mean to you?

“Courage to me is head down, get it done, life is going to be hard at times and you might doubt yourself or feel other people doubting you and you’re just going to have to go out and do it regardless. But joyful courage to me is a picture of having chin up, smile on your face, and for me, parenting. It takes a lot of courage to take on the responsibility of raising what needs to grow up to be responsible adults and those little lives are in your hands for such a young age. But you can do it scared, or you can do it with joy even in the arguments and even in the hard times, that there’s always joy to be found. If it’s just the sweet relationship you have with each of these people in your family that gives you what you need to go out and do the courageous job of parenting with your chin up, with a smile on your face.”

Where to find Luna:

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Podcast: Confessions Behind the Minivan

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35: LIZ MOODY - Overcoming Anxiety, Trauma, Loneliness + Getting Healthier Together