Happy Holidays

F R O M T H E

with Dr. O

Dr. Ondra Krouse Dismukes

GETTING READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Are you ready for the holidays?

I mean, really ready? Confession: For the past 15 years, I have come to dread the Holidays. Aside from the increased commercialization of the holidays - from the pumpkin lattes hitting our favorite cafes to the bottle-poppin’ year-end countdown, neither of which represent anything really holy (although, in my head I’m rebutting Well, champagne is like wine, and pumpkins are God’s fruit...You get the idea, right?) - the holidays also remind me of loss. Good old November - at the heels of Halloween, which ends a month-long celebration of breast cancer awareness - reminds me of my mom, who succumbed to breast cancer the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It also reminds me of my dad, who transitioned on the Saturday after Thanksgiving just six years earlier than my mom. Fortunately, I begin the month of November celebrating my mommyversary, the birth of my first-born child, my son; and I begin the month of December celebrating the birth of my daughter. My birthday falls next in line, just four days before Christmas; so the holidays take me on an emotional roller coaster that leave me feeling spent, even - or especially - from the anxiety of just anticipating feeling spent . . . WHEW! . .

Somehow, I feel, like I’m not alone, here; so, it is in this spirit that I share this anecdote along with some tips that I learned from one of my favorite podcasts, Therapy for Black Girls, on “Steadying Yourself for the Holidays” In session 33 of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed therapist in Atlanta, Georgia, offers the following six tips for maintaining your mental health during the holidays:

Be realistic about your budget; think of gifts that don’t have an obvious monetary amount. Create new traditions, or reexamine old ones. Make a game plan for dealing with the loss of a loved one. Set and stick to your boundaries Build downtime in your schedule just for yourself. Allow yourself space to feel whatever you feel.

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F R O M T H E

with Dr. O

Continued from p. 4

Dr. Ondra Krouse Dismukes

Whether celebrating the holidays with family, friends, or flying solo, Pretty Smart Chics has all the tools you need to maintain your pretty from the inside out, and from the outside in this holiday season!

Pretty Smart Chics kicked off the holiday season in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness month with an evening of music, dance, and poetry at the 10th annual Pink Frog Affair, an annual event by the Pink Frog Foundation that celebrates not only breast cancer survivors but also those in the community who donate their time, energy, and other resources in support of breast cancer patients in the community. Speaking of community, our Community Corner editor, Toyshebia Napper, reminds us not only of the importance of being charitable during the holidays, but also how to do so this year. Our Boss Chic, Jay L Harris, shares expert advice on how to maintain both your beauty and your brand during the holidays, and she shares an extra special treat in the next installment of Zeus: Chronicles of a Sex God. In this spirit of all things joy (wink!), Momspace Contributor L. Renee James-Griffin shares expertise from her blog on making holiday fun with the kids, and we go back inside the man cave, where J.W. shares his top 5 tips on buying gifts for your special guy this holiday season.

Of course, celebrating is a major part of the holidays, but even celebrating can be stressful without a success plan. With this in mind, Pretty Smart Chics is especially honored to share perspectives from our contributing writers, who remind us of the importance of self-care during the holidays. Wealth expert Tara Opie returns to help protect our financial health in her article, “Budgeting for Your Holiday Joy,” and interior decorator Tiffany Alexander shows us how to create beautiful holiday tables in our homes for the low low in "It's the Happiest Time of the Year." Tanelia Johnson- Evans notes that our spiritual health is akin to our spiritual wealth in her article “Healthy Spirit, Healthy Life,” while in "Giving the Gift of You," LeAnn Foster reminds us that, beyond all of the gift giving and holiday festivities, the greatest gift anyone can give is the gift of self.

Happy Holidays, Pretties!

-Dr. O

Credits: "Steadying Yourself for the Holidays." Therapy for Black Girls Podcast. 15 November 2017. https://therapyforblackgirls.com/podcast/

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