Grateful, But Exhausted: A Warrior Mom’s Thanksgiving Reset 🦃
Grateful, But Exhausted: A Warrior Mom’s Thanksgiving Reset 🦃
Because sometimes gratitude and overwhelm sit at the same table.
Momma, if you’re walking into Thanksgiving week feeling grateful,
but also tired, stretched thin, or secretly overwhelmed,
you’re NOT doing anything wrong.
You’re human.
You’re a mother.
And you’re carrying far more than anyone sees.
We talk so much about being thankful this time of year, but we rarely talk about the mom who is grateful and exhausted at the very same time!!
The mom who loves her family fiercely but feels the pressure stacking higher every day.
The mom who wants Thanksgiving to feel special, but her nervous system is already in survival mode before she even buys the turkey.
And sis, if that’s you?
Come sit with me for a minute.
You don’t have to pretend you’re fine.
🩷 A Simple Thanksgiving Memory That Changed Me
There was a Thanksgiving a few years back when all of us were in the kitchen not chaotic, not dramatic, just, normal.
The boys were teasing each other, Chloe was dancing around the dogs, and Matt was carving something. The house felt loud in that familiar, comforting way.
And right in the middle of all that good chaos, I realized something,
I was standing there watching everyone else enjoy the moment…
while my brain was already on the next five tasks.
I wasn’t stressed.
I wasn’t upset.
I wasn’t overwhelmed.
I was just, absent.
Mom autopilot had taken over.
Then Jacob walked up behind me, wrapped one arm around me, didn’t say a word and just stood there.
Just presence.
Just warmth.
Just my kid leaning into me the way he used to when he was little.
And something in me stopped.
“I’ve been so busy holding this whole day together, I haven’t actually been in it.”
So I turned off the burner, leaned into that hug, and let myself be in the room again.
Of all the Thanksgiving memories I’ve collected over the years, that tiny, quiet moment is the one I keep.
Because it taught me this:
Gratitude doesn’t always come from doing more.
Sometimes it comes from finally stopping long enough to notice the good that’s already right in front of you! Can I get an Amen? 😀
🩶 The Hidden Load Moms Carry This Week
The emotional labor of the holidays is real.
Moms carry the…
✨ planning
✨ coordinating
✨ shopping
✨ cooking
✨ cleaning
✨ smoothing over tensions
✨ managing emotions (ours + everyone else’s)
✨ maintaining the “holiday magic”
✨ and keeping the entire family running
By the time Thanksgiving arrives, most moms aren’t tired from one week,
they’re tired from months (or years) of running the emotional engine of their family.
This isn’t weakness.
This is the reality of being the one everyone counts on.
But just because you can carry it…
doesn’t mean you have to carry all of it alone.
😔 When Thankfulness Feels Hard
If this year has been heavy…
If your teen is struggling…
If you’ve been navigating anxiety, grief, burnout, or emotional overload…
If your body feels off or your heart feels tender, then forcing “thankfulness” can feel impossible.
Hear me: There is no shame in finding gratitude harder this year.
Sometimes gratitude looks like:
“I made it through today.”
or
“I’m choosing to believe God is with me, even here.”
or
“This season hurts, but I’m still standing.”
Thankfulness isn’t a performance!!!
It’s permission to recognize God’s goodness even when life feels complicated.
💛 A Thanksgiving Reset: 10 Tiny Ways to Make This Week Lighter
You don’t need a self-care retreat or a picture-perfect holiday.
You need tiny, human-sized resets that help your nervous system breathe again.
Here are ten:
1. Step outside for 2 minutes.
Reset your cortisol.
2. Sip water before coffee or errands.
Your hormones will thank you.
3. Take 5 slow breaths before you respond to anyone.
Your nervous system needs space.
4. Drop one expectation today.
You are not required to be Pinterest.
5. Practice the holy NO.
Protect your peace like it matters because it does.
6. Ask for help, not quietly, but out loud.
Delegating is an act of strength.
7. Give yourself 10 quiet minutes alone.
Stillness = sanity.
8. Prepare for sensory overload.
Soft music, deep breaths, step away when needed.
9. Choose presence over perfection.
The rolls can burn. The memories will NOT.
10. Notice one simple mercy.
A laugh. A hug. A warm home. A quiet moment of peace.
These are small.
These are doable.
These are FOR you.
🩷 For the Mama Who’s Grateful but Bone-Tired
You haven’t failed.
You’re not behind.
You’re not the only one feeling this way.
You are a Warrior Mom,
not because you’re perfect,
but because you keep showing up with heart and courage,
even when you’re tired.
This Thanksgiving, let yourself breathe.
Let yourself be present.
Let yourself rest where you can.
Let yourself feel whatever this week brings.
And let God sit with you in all of it, the gratitude, the heaviness, the joy, and the in-between.
💛 A Gentle Invitation
If this season feels heavy or if you need encouragement beyond Thanksgiving, come join us inside the Warrior Moms Rising Community, a space filled with honesty, compassion, and strength for moms in hard seasons.
You don’t have to do motherhood alone.
Not this week.
Not ever.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
Psalm 107:1
Happy Thanksgiving friends!
With grit, grace, and fire,
🩷 Jenn/Warrior Mom
🩷 Save this for the days you need to remember who you are.
🩷 Share it with another mom who needs to be reminded she’s not alone in the fight.
🩷 Want more encouragement like this? Visit warriormomcoach.net and join my email list so you never miss a blog, newsletter, or Warrior Mom update. You’ll also get access to free resources created to help you advocate, overcome, and thrive as a Warrior Mom.
🦋 The Warrior Mom Reset: From Burnout to Battle Ready Course Your next step toward strength, clarity, and peace.
If this blog is hitting you right in the soul, the exhaustion, the overwhelm, the hormone chaos, the pressure to hold everyone together then sis, it might be time for a reset.
That’s exactly why I created The Warrior Mom Reset: From Burnout to Battle Ready.
This 6-module program is the roadmap I wish I had when I was fighting for Chloe, losing myself, and trying to navigate motherhood, hormones, and faith all at once.
Inside the course, you’ll learn how to:
✨ Reclaim your identity when life has stretched you thin
✨ Reset your nervous system so your body feels safe again
✨ Calm cortisol and step out of survival mode
✨ Understand your hormones and advocate for your healthcare
✨ Build strength in mind, body, and spirit — not just one
✨ Create a rhythm of rest, boundaries, and soul-care
✨ Walk with God through the fire instead of trying to do it alone
This isn’t another fluffy “self-care” checklist.
This is transformation backed by faith, science, and lived experience.
If you're tired of running on empty…
If you're ready to rise instead of just cope…
If you’re craving clarity, peace, and purpose again…
🌿 The Warrior Mom Reset is your next step.
Because burnout doesn’t get the final say breakthrough does.
P.S. If you’re looking for some of my favorite resources, books, and tools that have encouraged me on this journey, you can check out my Warrior Mom Amazon Storefront, I’ve curated it just for you. SHOP HERE
Come hang with us in the Warrior Mom Facebook group. It is a space where we remind each other that we’re not machines. We’re moms. We are Warrior Moms. And we need rest too.
👉 FB WARRIOR MOM GROUP
👉 If this resonates with you, I share more of our story in my book, Warrior Mom Rising, a battle plan of faith, grit, and advocacy for moms walking through hard seasons.
