Heading into the holiday season feels different for everyone. Some are filled with excitement; others, with dread.

This year, we’ve been thinking a lot about forgiveness. Within relationships and families, it’s a word that comes up often and for good reason. Those closest to us are also the ones most capable of hurting us, whether intentionally or not.

Forgiveness can be complicated, hard to define, and harder still to practice. Society often frames it as a final destination, a moment when we release all resentment and move forward unburdened. But when forgiveness feels like a mountaintop to reach, it can seem out of reach altogether.

What if we saw it differently? Instead of a lofty, one-time achievement, what if forgiveness were an ongoing, everyday practice, something we do continuously? What if we normalized apologizing and forgiving many times a day, just as we ask children to do: apologize, forgive, and move on.