Wolcum Yole!

And a happy 2024 everyone.

The holidays are basically over - we already took the lights down from the front porch, though - I loved their cheery glow, so I wasn't entirely ready to kick them to the curb - but it's done.

That, in a nutshell, is the hardest part about the new year - once all the celebrating is done, it's over - and you have that semi-long, semi-hard slog through what's left of winter, which is only about eight - ten weeks, but feels interminable.

So, as you may recall, or maybe not - either way, I try to come up with a word each year to keep in mind when I am dealing with hard times or challenges, or just need a little boost.

Last year, the word was "order".  Which I chose because it has so many nuances and meaning.  Did I achieve order?  That's a big old nope.  In fact, it was a pretty chaotic year for a lot of reasons.  But I got through the year, and that's enough.

And that brings me, ironically, to this year's word:  Enough.

 

This is another one with a lot of nuance.  It is used to indicate a state that dances the line between a skosh past scarcity, and a skosh before satiation.  You could want more, you could do with a little less - but enough is fine.  

There's also the use where you aren't going to take something any more, and you say, "Enough!"  - it's a declaration of done, so to speak.

It's a statement of being satisfied with where you are and what you have, and those are a good places to be.  

You get the idea.

So, it's already been a challenging year, five days in.  Mom had to make the hard decision to euthanize her beloved pug, Maggie.  Maggie was 16.  She was blind, diabetic, and starting to experience pain, so it was the right move.  That doesn't make it easier.  Her boyfriend's son helped her bury Maggie next to The Dude in the back yard, and that's hard.  They sent pictures.  And video. I won't subject you to either.  Instead, here's a picture of young, sweet Maggie and Dude.

Dude is on the left, Maggie is on the right.

The first week of the year is always a challenge at work - working out the kinks.  We're in the home stretch, though.

Well, for now.  I guess that's....

enough.

ae