Exhausted? EXHALE!

Julie Bolejack

26 Dec 2025 — 1 min read

Good morning, and welcome to December 26—the most honest day of the year.

This is the day when the decorations are still up, the food is still out, and everyone collectively agrees to stop pretending they have their life together. It’s the holiday after the holiday, which means the pressure is gone, the pants are looser (emotionally if not physically), and the calendar politely whispers, “You did enough.”

If you celebrated Christmas, today is for leftovers that somehow taste better than they did yesterday. It’s for coffee that doesn’t have to be shared. It’s for quietly wondering why you bought that one thing you swore was perfect. It’s also for finding at least three items you completely forgot you received. Surprise!

If you didn’t celebrate Christmas, congratulations—you’ve survived several weeks of festive noise, blinking lights, and people aggressively asking what your plans were. Today is for you too. The world has finally calmed down. The music volume drops. The emails slow. The sales banners shift from magic to panic. Peace returns.

December 26 is not about gratitude lists or resolutions or squeezing meaning out of tinsel. It’s about exhaling. About acknowledging that December is a lot—for everyone—for different reasons. Joy, grief, nostalgia, exhaustion, delight, disappointment, all tossed into the same glittery snow globe and shaken vigorously.

Today, you are allowed to do very little.

You are allowed to eat oddly.

You are allowed to leave dishes until tomorrow.

You are allowed to not explain yourself.

This is the day for re-watching something comforting, wearing socks that don’t match, and letting the year gently loosen its grip on your shoulders. No expectations. No performances. No forced cheer.

Just a quiet moment to say: I made it through another December.

And that—no wrapping paper required—is something worth honoring.

With warmth, humor, and zero judgment about leftovers!

Pay attention. Take care. Keep going.

Julie Bolejack, MBA

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