Holidays, Trauma and the Santa Claus Problem

In this episode, Rachel touches on an unexpected parenting issue her and Dennis have come across - Dennis doesn’t want to be Santa for Christmas. Christmas is an especially important time for Rachel and she reflects on her past to figure out why that is. Prior to having her baby girl, Rachel placed so much emphasis on her birthday. Not too long ago, she realized that a happy birthday meant separating from loss and trauma that plagued this celebration before.

Since leaving Sweden, Christmas has been the time of year Rachel loves the most. Coming from complex family dynamics (learn more about these in the episode, “From Suicide to Sobriety” with Rachel’s mom, Shama), Rachel realizes that having a Christmas where everyone is together and happy means so much to her. Spending the holidays with her little family is a time to create happy memories with Dennis and fill Luna’s childhood with Christmas joy and magic. But now, with Dennis and Rachel not seeing eye-to-eye on the importance of Santa Claus, Rachel tries to decide the best course of action moving forward.

There is beauty in this time of year, even if it is sometimes messy. What are your Christmas stories and traditions? Share and let’s see what this time of year brings us all.

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