How ya been? Starting around December 21, I took a break from nearly all media and internet, other than the necessary emails, weather forecasts, and occasional TV watching. I wanted to focus on my family as much as possible over the holiday break, and while it was nice to do that, I’m exhausted. But maybe mentally refreshed?
Here are some highlights from the past 12-ish days:
- Took the kids skating, once on the lake, once at a rink; they’re finally actually skating less than they are falling
- Also went skiing with the kids, our default winter activity
- Visited in-laws in a new house they’re building nearer to the mountains, it’s beautiful!
- Put the roof box on the Volvo (above) and forgot to close the sunroof, it snowed about 3" of wet snow and then rained overnight. Oops.
- Ate and drank too much, now repenting
- Accomplished almost nothing on my to-do list
- Went out to dinner one night with just my wife, and we were home by 8:00 (see next bullet point)
- Went to bed every night completely and utterly exhausted from being with the kids all day, every day. Man, I love them, but they are exhausting.
I have to say it was nice to be away from the world of social media and the current US news cycle for a bit. I like to be informed, but I am so disheartened by.... well let’s just be honest, our President. I find it hard not to fall down the rabbit hole of ‘what horrible / irrational / completely false / racist / ignorant / childish thing did he do today?’ And that’s not healthy. I just need to have faith that the wheels of democracy and justice are grinding ever forward. I listen to a great podcast called The Daily, and I read the news here and there. It’s just too easy to keep digging!
I’m not one to make grand New Year’s Resolutions but I will say I feel energized to step back a little from the news and put more focus on the things that really matter to me, personally, in my day-to-day life. I feel stretched very thin this time of year and if nothing else I feel empowered to take a fresh look at my priorities so I don’t lose my mind.
Before I go too deep here, I’ll just leave it at that.