December 27, 1:00pm. Since freshman year of college, Winter Break has been a time of recharging the batteries…as well as a fair amount of partying. After college, this didn’t change, rather it amplified – as a teacher,I still had winter break, but was now in a major city with much more disposable income. Hanging out at peoples’ houses and ending up at the diner transitioned to staying out at the bar past last call and, well, probably ihop. Rinse and repeat, usually more times over the that stretch of 10-14 days than I probably should have.

I’m on day 5 of winter break. I’ve left the house 3 times in total, twice to the supermarket and once to pick up dinner. I’ve had maybe 5 drinks, my late nights have involved Maddie’s drinking habits more than mine, and I have seen zero friends over this time.

To be clear, I am not lamenting my current state of affairs, just simply taking stock. Life has clearly changed dramatically since Maddie joined us, and I’m pretty ok with this. This is a winter break that is clearly drastically different than previous ones, but I’m definitely not bored. While this hasn’t been my most active break, I’ve had almost no true down time. Yes, I’m looking forward to times further down the line when there’s a bit more balance, but right now I’m really just appreciating this time while it’s here, and trying to absorb as much of it as I can.

Today’s big outing is about to be Home Depot, followed by another trip to the supermarket (yes, my life has become the joke from Old School – doubtful we’ll have time for Bed Bath and Beyond). Tomorrow my wife works 24 hours again, so mentally preparing for that – not a lot of excitement on the horizon, but I highly doubt it will be boring.