Hello everyone! Happy holidays to those who are celebrating and just a generally good time to everyone else.

This year too I just want to come out and say, it is okay to feel down or sad or overwhelmed during the holidays as well. It is a time where everyone and everything is trying to tell us that we need to feel happy and gracious and show it to the world, and I know from my own experience that that can make you feel rather guilty if you just can't muster that enthusiasm over the holidays. So for everyone who needs to hear it over the holidays, it is okay to feel negative feelings too, it is okay if you need time for yourself, and it is okay if you feel like you simply can't give it your all all the time.

I've took some time to visit my family again this year. We like to keep festivities short in a small circle these days, and I am pretty happy about that. I love the opportunity to see everyone again and just have some good food, but even with a pretty cool and chill family like mine I'd be lying if I said it wasn't extremely draining despite all that. On top of that, I caught another round of Covid in early December, and I am still dealing with the after-effects of that. Been feeling tired and drained for almost three weeks straight now. I enjoyed my time, but man, am I glad I can finally just lie back for a few days and focus on recovering.

I hope you all are doing better, and if not, I hope you'll at least feel a little less alone with those feelings these holidays.