Rebel Talk: Holding the Thread
I’ll be honest with you—I’m not good at Christmas shopping. I dread it. Not the gifts. Not the giving. I love the giving more than anything. It’s the process that gets me. The lists. The stores. The mental gymnastics. The “checking it twice.”
As most of you know, I’ve got two boys. One is 13. One is 11.
My 13-year-old knows. I mean… he knows.
My 11-year-old? He’s still hanging on. Barely. By a thread.
And here’s the thing—no matter how tough, chaotic, or exhausting life gets, we only get so many of these years. These fragile, fleeting, formattable years where the magic still matters. Where belief still lives in the corners of the house. Where Christmas morning still feels like something sacred.
I preach all the time about going with the flow. About not sweating the small stuff. About keeping perspective. And I believe every word of it. But I’ll be the first to admit—living it is harder than saying it.
Because I still want it to be magical for them.
I overthink everything.
They make lists. I make lists.
It’s not about how much money gets spent—it’s about balance.
The number of gifts.
Making sure it’s equal.
Not too many. Not too few.
Making sure there’s enough to open, but not so much that it loses its meaning.
Are there bigger problems in the world? Of course.
But this is what’s weighing on me right now. And if you’re feeling the same pressure, I see you.
That’s why I get it when emails come in frustrated. When shipping gets delayed. When orders don’t arrive as fast as hoped. I get it—because I’m living the same reality. We’re all tracking packages. We’re all racing the clock. We’re all just trying to do the best we can, within our means, to make this season meaningful for the people we love.
And I want you to know this—whether you’ve sent us “love mail” or you’ve sent us “hate mail”—we see you. All of you.
At Relentless Rebel, we are doing our absolute damndest for every single order, every single customer, every single family on the other side of that box. The same way I do my damndest for my kids. With heart. With effort. With intention.
Because at the end of the day, we’re more alike than we are different.
We’re all trying.
We’re all carrying pressure.
We’re all showing up the best way we know how.
So let’s do this together. Let’s make this next week a truly Merry Christmas—for our kids, our families, our people.
And if, when it’s all said and done, you feel like you poured everything out and didn’t get much back—reach out. To me. To us. You’re not alone.
We’re here.
We support you.
And we will always have your back.
Stay Relentless,
Ryan
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