High Emotions During Holiday Season Require Something Different

Stop Participating in What's Hurting You

Traditional self-care tells you to cope with draining relatives, financial anxiety over gifts, performances of joy when you're grieving. I'm suggesting something more radical: stop participating.

Try this: List every holiday obligation. Beside each, write the honest emotional cost. Then ask: What would happen if I simply... didn't?

The Grief Nobody Names

The empty chair. The fractured family. The person you used to be. The loss nobody mentions at Christmas dinner.

You can't bubble-bath your way through grief. The most radical self-care might be naming it out loud and refusing to wrap it in tinsel.

The Real Mindshift

Emotional well-being isn't achieving "holiday spirit." It's accepting whatever you're feeling without trying to fix it.

Your emotional truth is more valuable than your emotional performance.

Your Liberation List

Give yourself permission to quit:

The decorating that exhausts you
The gift exchange that's performative
The event you dread
Pretending you're fine when you're falling apart

Every quit is a boundary. Every boundary is self-preservation.

Ask yourself: "Why am I still going to Christmas dinner with this person?" Not "How do I survive it?"

The Real Self-Care

What if you're enough exactly as you are—without the perfect gifts, decorated house, or holiday magic?

Your mantra this season: "I will not betray myself to make others comfortable."

You don't need another bath bomb. You need permission to be human.

The holidays don't require your perfection. They only require that you stop abandoning yourself to make them work.

By the Book: A Fire Chief, A City Charter, and Questions Nobody's Fully Answered

A heated controversy at Beaumont City Hall is teaching residents about how local government actually works—and why following the rules matters even when emotions run high.

At-Large Councilman Mike Williams has publicly called for Fire Chief Earl White and Assistant Chief Christian Singler to resign, citing concerns about overtime costs, staffing decisions, and delayed programs. The trigger: last week's fire cadet program drew 338 applications in eight days. Williams argues this proves it should have been implemented years earlier when union leadership proposed it.

The Charter Complication

Here's the problem: the City Charter prohibits Council from dictating "the appointment of any person to, or removal from, office or employment" under the City Manager's authority. Council can only hire or fire four positions: City Manager, City Attorney, City Magistrate, and City Clerk.

Mayor Roy West was direct: "The request from City Council Members for the Fire Chief resignation is inappropriate. We must respect the boundaries of our roles." Councilwoman LaDonna Sherwood added that the public controversy creates "more division, more drama" when progress was being made.

What We Don't Know

While Williams's allegations are serious, we haven't heard the full story: What constraints was Chief White operating under? What issues existed before his tenure? Were there legitimate operational concerns about earlier proposals?

Chief White's only comment: "If Mike Williams is criticizing me, then any response should come from my boss, the City Manager."

The Takeaway

This highlights a fundamental tension: Should professional management be protected from political pressure? Or must elected officials respond when constituents and firefighters express concerns?

What Beaumont deserves is the complete story—not just accusations, but context, constraints, and competing perspectives. Williams plans to address this at the December 16th Council meeting.

The conversation is just beginning.

Trivia Question❓

In 1901, the city of Beaumont, TX became known for a historic event involving a famous natural resource. What was this event and resource?

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter

"Experience the Magic of the Holidays at the McFaddin-Ward House Museum's Annual Open House"

The McFaddin-Ward House Museum in Beaumont, Texas, is hosting its annual holiday open house on December 6th and 7th.

The museum will be decorated for the holidays, with festive decorations and activities for guests to enjoy.

Visitors can experience the historic home's charm and learn about its rich history during this special event.
This holiday open house is a great opportunity for families and individuals to celebrate the holiday season in a beautifully decorated setting.