carrying it forward

welcome back to Sunday Goods!

the holidays tend to magnify whatever we’re already carrying, don't ya think?

joy feels louder.

stress feels heavier.

& for a lot of people, there’s a quiet in-between: showing up, but not fully feeling festive.

when I was little, I spent one Christmas in the hospital with pneumonia.

it wasn't dramatic, just different. slower. smaller. a little removed from what everyone else was doing.

that day, a woman brought me a gift.

it was a bride Barbie.

I later learned her daughter was supposed to get married on Christmas Day, but she was killed by a drunk driver on the way to her wedding.

instead of letting that day become something she avoided forever,

this woman chose to spend it giving a gift to a child in the hospital. & she did it every year.

at the time, I didn’t understand the full story. I just knew someone showed up for me when I wasn’t where I expected to be.

as I’ve gotten older, I’ve thought a lot about that choice.

about how giving back doesn’t always come from having extra, it often comes from carrying something heavy & deciding not to let it harden you.

that experience stayed with me. it’s the reason that every year since then, i have brought a gift to a child in the hospital every Christmas morning.

not as a big gesture. just as a quiet way of continuing something meaningful.

mental health isn’t always about fixing or healing in obvious ways.

sometimes it’s about routines that ground us.

traditions that remind us we’re connected.

small acts that pull us out of our own heads & back into the world.

this time of year doesn’t have to be perfect to be purposeful.

giving back doesn’t have to look a certain way to count.

what stays with people is rarely the size of the gesture, it’s the presence behind it.

if this season feels heavy or different, maybe there’s something you can carry forward too.

something small.

something steady.

something that reminds you that even quiet kindness has a way of lasting.

that’s a good thing to bring with you into the new year.

so, what is one small act of kindness or tradition you can carry forward this season?

with care,
elle