Just a short piece today. I’m very tired, you see. I’ve been sick—sicker than I’ve been in a while—with infection from nose to chest and a terrifying voice loss. Plus, it’s the end of the museum season. For the next four months, I’m a full-time writer…but for the moment, that last, desperate push to the end has left me spent.

So how are you?

I’ve been thinking: this is a good time to be tired, this suspended period between Christmas and New Year’s. The year is done, but not quite begun. This is a time out of time, grey winter days sliding past, still punctuated with coloured lights and the scent of pine and gingerbread.

Very soon, I’ll pull out some scrap paper and my whiteboards. I’ll sort out exactly how I’m spending the off-season, and then, the shape of the year beyond. But for now…

For now, I am very tired. In a few hours, I’ll fly to Virginia, where I intend to spend some time stuffing myself with BBQ, beer, and love. I’ll bring my play down so I can do some rewriting if the urge strikes, but we’ll see how it goes.

And don’t get me wrong: I’m happy. But 2017 will be a big year, and it’s the holidays: a time to slow down, to be with people you love, and just breathe. However and whatever you celebrate, I hope these days bring you warmth and joy. It’s the year’s waning days: spend them being good to yourself.

See you on the other side!

KT

What I’m Listening to This Week

It was just Christmas yesterday, so it was a week of Christmas music. Since it’s me, half of it was in Latin. I’m also particularly fond of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” My favourite version of this actually hails from a musical adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby, but I can’t find it online. Here’s another excellent recording.

And it’s tidings of comfort and joy…