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Okay, I’m late--really late--with a blog today. But it’s in keeping with the subject of the blog. Namely that weird limbo week between Christmas and New Year’s that’s filled with… Hmmm. Actually, I’m never quite sure what it’s filled with. For many, it’s back to work as usual the day or two after Christmas. For some lucky few, however--especially those of us who are self-employed and schedule our own hours--it’s a week filled with nothingness. Or catching-upness. Or reassessness. Or whatever -ness we want to fill it with.

For me and mine, this week tends to be one of laziness. For instance, I was supposed to go to the grocery and do laundry today (and, um, blog), but all of that has just fallen by the wayside because… Well, because it can. Tomorrow, I’m supposed to do all the stuff that didn’t get done today. But since we have enough leftovers from Christmas in the fridge and received cool new clothes for gifts, I probably won’t do any of today’s chores tomorrow, either.

I think it’s just that we were so busy heading up to the holiday, what with shopping and visiting and cleaning house for the onslaught of family, that we need a few days to decompress and just relax. I also think there’s some kind of psychological preparation going on, too, with the knowledge that the new year is just around the corner. We’re clearing our heads for all the things we’ll need to fill them with come January. All the new projects, all the new plans, all the new life.

I like this week, though, in spite of its lack of direction and lack of planning. Or, more accurately, because of that. We’re not good planners in my tribe. We’re not good schedulers, either. And this week is the only one we have in a year of fifty-two where we can live by our own clocks instead of the one society sets for us. Next week, my husband and son will go back to school, and I’ll go back to writing. We’ll all go back to our daily walks and I’ll go back to Richard Simmons. We’ll go back to eating right and going to bed early and limiting our television and gaming habits. Next week, we’ll live the way we’re supposed to live. This week, though, for a few lovely days, we’ll live the way we want.

So how about you? How do you spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s? Are there any special things you do to prepare for the new year?