I work on a university campus that shuts down and gives employees a paid week off between Christmas and New Year’s Day, an amazing benefit I didn’t know I was getting until my first day orientation!
My first thought was to go on road trips and adventures and be hypersocial. But then some plans moved around and I realized I could have a slow, quiet, restful time. I welcomed that with open arms.
I took a few solo excursions, but I stuck close to home.
I walked through Laurel Hill East on a cold day one might call raw.
This wasp nest on an old headstone is my entire aesthetic:
I took myself to see the Ridley Scott Napoleon biopic at 10 a.m. on a Wednesday.
Took a Coffee-Walk through Haddonfield:
Went to the Indian King Tavern Museum for the first time:
And then for one glorious day, I did not leave the house.
I enjoyed books, our fireplace, records. Comfort!
A-puzzlin’ … even though we had one missing piece and one misfit piece from a brand-new box!
From “The Comfort of Crows” by Margaret Renkl:
“What if resting all by itself is the real act of holiness? What if honoring the gift of our life in this gorgeous world means taking time every week to slow down? To sleep? To breathe? The natural world has never needed us more than it needs us now, but we can’t be of much use to it if we remain in a perpetual state of exhaustion and despair.”
Rang in the New Year with hotpot and some magical walks around the neighborhood, while the neighbors have their bright, elaborate lights and decor still out for all to enjoy.
Laura Eppinger 