Do you know what day it is? Are you wearing pjs past noon? Are you still working through all the sweets that you accumulated during the holidays?
Author Helena Fitzgerald wrote an article in The Atlantic describing the week between Christmas and New Year’s as a dead week. She writes,
Christmas is over and we have arrived at the most wonderful time of the year—nominally still the holidays, but also the opposite of a holiday, a blank space stretching between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when nothing makes sense and time loses its meaning. For many of us, this is the only time of year when it feels possible, and even encouraged, to do nothing. I look forward to it all year long.
She acknowledges that not everyone has this week off
Some people have to work. For those of us in and around higher education, this week is a dream come true. You can ignore your inbox without getting punished with hundreds of emails that accumulated while you were off. Usually, no one at work expects anything of you this week. We can truly rest.
I’ve opted to call this week chill week (dead week sounds too dark).
Yes, I have a list of things I’d like to do; but if I don’t get to them they will still be there in January. These days without an agenda are glorious. I can do whatever I want. I’ve already finished a book and watched a movie. It’s the best week of rest.
What is this week like for you? I would love for you to tell me about it.
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Chill out, friends.
