To those who celebrate, I hope your holidays were merry. I had an unprecedented four days off in a row, and I did a lot of sitting around! I watched some Christmas movies (Miracle on 34th Street, While You Were Sleeping, Muppet Christmas Carol, and The Lion in Winter), cooked some meals, wrapped some presents, unwrapped some presents and now here we are, hurdling toward 2024.

Now, however, it’s back to work. I don’t mind this time of year, actually. While this library is never slow, we do less programming and generally give ourselves a breather. People always get sick, there are always vacations, so it makes sense to buffer in a little wiggle room.

We got a new Nintendo Switch for the teens and have been playing Mario Kart in the staff room, ostensibly to unlock the features before the kids play it. Yeah. That’s the reason.

Last night, my dog woke up me up at 2 am to go outside so I stumbled out of bed, until my partner said, “I just let them out. Why would he wake you up?”

Turns out, it was because he wanted to lie in my warm spot and he immediately snuggled up with his head on my pillow. I was like, EXCUSE ME? And then he moved to lie on the folded back sheet and then tried to sit on top of his sister and was generally just a menace. He’s grumpy because we’re out of his favorite treats and they don’t arrive until tomorrow, so I think he simply decided to make his bad mood everyone’s problem.

So today, I’m a little more tired. The last month and a half has been a blur of holidays, work, gearing up for a new book launch, and revising a manuscript so I’m happy to find myself in this liminal pocket of time that is the last week of the year with no immediately pressing deadlines. It’s rare, and appreciated and I hope you find a restful pocket here and there as well.