So far, so good. I have a big pot of black eyed peas simmering on the stove, we spent most of the day hanging out with friends, and the children just went to their grandparents’ house to spend the night.

This morning I woke up and thought it was the middle of the night. I didn’t feel tired, but I was sure it was 4am and had no idea how I was going to get back to sleep. I looked at the clock. It was 6:30am. For two weeks now, I haven’t had to set an alarm and I think I’ve finally caught up on all the lost sleep from the past 4 months. When I saw those numbers on the clock, I felt like I could tackle the new year, and the return to school/work/activity schedule which awaits us in a couple of days.

The end of November and most of December was busy and hard. My bedroom was torn up, as a new wood floor was put in. I painted every wall and piece of trim in the bedroom 4 times (it took that much good quality paint and primer to completely cover the old nastiness). A huge photography project was tied up, though it felt like it would never end. And of course there were all the typical end of the year parties and gifts and decorating and food preparation, most of which falls into my lap. Waking up this morning in my beautiful, light and bright bedroom, feeling well rested was an unexpected gift.

A very happy beginning.