It's Christmas Eve. Maybe the house isn't as clean as you wanted. Maybe the gifts aren't wrapped perfectly. Maybe dinner didn't turn out the way you pictured, or someone said something at the family gathering that's still sitting in your chest.
Here's what I want you to remember tonight: perfection was never the point.
The holidays sell us a fantasy—everything beautiful, everyone happy, no tension, no mess. But that's not how real families work. That's not how real relationships work. And chasing that fantasy can pull you away from the person sitting right next to you.
Tonight, choose connection over perfection.
That might mean letting go of the thing that went wrong and being present for what's happening now. It might mean turning toward your partner instead of stewing in frustration. It might mean saying, "I'm glad you're here with me," even if the day didn't go as planned.
Connection doesn't require everything to be right. It just requires you to show up—imperfectly, honestly, with whatever you have left to give.
If there's tension between you and your partner tonight, you don't have to resolve it all before midnight. But you can offer a small gesture. A hand on their shoulder. A moment of eye contact. A quiet "I love you" that doesn't demand anything in return.
These small moments of turning toward each other matter more than the big gestures. They're what build—and rebuild—the sense that you're in this together.
So tonight, let the imperfections be. Let the dishes wait. Let go of how it was supposed to look.
Be with the person you love. That's enough.