First & Jenn Morning Coffee: Dear December, I’m Coming in Softer, Not Smaller

Dear December,

I’m not rushing into you this time. I’m not sprinting to the finish line or trying to prove that I did enough this year. I’m walking in slowly, quietly, with intention. This time, I want peace to be the priority.

This year taught me how loud the world can get when you forget to listen to yourself. Every month felt like a race filled with new deadlines, new expectations, and new reasons to question whether I was doing enough. But maybe the real win isn’t keeping up. Maybe it’s learning to move at your own rhythm, even when everyone else is running ahead.

I spent most of this year chasing opportunities, milestones, and clarity. I thought growth meant motion, but I’ve learned it also means knowing when to stop and breathe. I don’t want to end the year burnt out from trying to be “on” all the time. I want to close it with balance, softness, and grace for how far I’ve already come.

I’m coming into December softer, but not smaller. Softer in how I speak to myself. Softer in how I handle what didn’t go as planned. Softer in how I define success. But not smaller in my dreams, my standards, or my belief that I’m still becoming everything I’m meant to be.

I want December to be a month of realignment. Less proving, more trusting. Less forcing, more flowing. I want to feel present again, grounded in the moments that remind me who I am outside of deadlines, titles, and timelines. I want to find beauty in slowness, joy in simplicity, and faith in what’s still growing, even when I can’t see it yet.

This month, I’m choosing to believe that rest can be just as productive as movement. That reflection can lead to more progress than pressure ever could. And that softness, when rooted in self-awareness, is not weakness. It’s power.

So, December, I won’t measure you in achievements or output. I’ll measure you in presence. In calm mornings, soft routines, laughter that feels like exhale, and faith in the things still unfolding.

Here’s to closing the year gently, not desperately.
To ending in peace, not panic.
To starting the next chapter from alignment, not exhaustion.

Love,
Me