We all feel the weight of the holidays upon our shoulders. Some may feel more pressure than others. Some have spouses working the holidays or will themselves be at the station, some are lucky enough to be together at home.

For those of us who are stressed about pulling Christmas miracles together on our own, working with a small budget, mixed schedules, extended family pressure, dealing with hard calls during this season…We feel you!   Keep reading for our best resources this holiday season.

Many firefighters often wonder, “Why is My Fire Wife Such a Grinch?” Well, Lori explains it in the following post.

Why is My Fire Wife Such a Grinch

My advice on the stress of the season …. we’re way too blessed to be stressed.   We’ve got our family – even when they’re driving us crazy, our health – even if there are some challenges we’re still here on this earth, and if you’re reading this, I’ll assume you are warm, dry and fed connected to the internet somewhere.    Focus on what we HAVE and not what we don’t.    The tones are going to drop any moment now on a call that will tragically impact someone’s life in ways they couldn’t imagine.   As a fire family you always have that perspective right in front of you as a reminder to be grateful.   You’re way to blessed to be stressed my friend.

Ask a Fire Wife…

Holidays with your firefighter at the station can sometimes seem not as special when you see other families celebrating family traditions together. But fire families have their own unique traditions around the holidays. Here are some things firefighters do to make the holidays special for their families when they work the holidays.

“Put our lights and decorations on the outside of the house, and set them on timers! Swoon! In past years, the lights were only on on the days he was home because he knew how to plug them all in without blowing a fuse! Last year he connected timers, so there’s lights every night! No more depressing nights of deflated decorations on the lawn!”

“He puts up the Christmas lights so that I can turn them on the day after Thanksgiving.”

“Mine always invites us to come to the station to see him.
Mainly because he works a One Man station, so it is easy to me and the kids to come up for a visit without being an inconvenience to co-workers. I can cook there, watch TV and stay without feeling weird if he gets a call.”

“My FF worked his butt off to get Xmas eve and day off this year. We are very lucky to have found someone willing to work for him on those days. Xmas eve is a BIG deal with his family. Typical Italian seafood night. He does the majority of the cooking, so his parents were stressing out that he wouldn’t be there this year. But he pulled it off.  He found someone. He has even told his shift partner that he would go in (on his day off) to cover her shift for 4 hours so she could spend some xmas time with her family. I have the best FF hubby ever!!!!”

What about the loneliness that comes with being apart? What does your firefighter do to help ease the empty feeling that comes when a shift day falls on a holiday?

“Little things like leaving a book for the kiddo with a video of him reading it, a note acknowledging the role of being lonely during the holidays, helping when he’s home, conversations about how to prevent the loneliness (planning dinners with friends, date nights when he has to miss a Christmas party)”

“Text back when I text him. Even if it is just hi…”

“Text an ‘I love you,’ or ‘How’s your day,’ or something when he has time. And responding back with at least an ‘Ok,’ once he sees my messages, even if it’s not right away.”

“Validate my feelings”

“We talk and text. Then during our celebration we FaceTime so gets to talk to the rest of the family. Love that we have this technology that helps us stay better connected with our FF. Back 20 years ago a simple phone call was all we had.”

“Texting and calling throughout the day. We always make time to go see him at the station.”

What works for your family?