“Hello, boys!”

“I’m baaaack!”

I’m terrible at keeping up with things. I usually say that won’t do it if it’s not on my calendar. Even remembering to breathe sometimes is a calendar event.

So, I’m making a calendar event to update the Exhausted Menu. Or, maybe I’m living up to the name of the blog. Who knows.

I started the blog as a reaction to the 2024 election. I was so sad and scared and angry that we not only had to go through this bullsh*t again but do it in a more concentrated form. And this time, I’ve got a young daughter to raise in this hellscape.

I was also on sabbatical. It was a magical time when I could concentrate on a few things at once and not a bazillion things every second of the day. To be an administrative academic is a test of one’s stamina and patience – something I was very short on before the sabbatical. Of course, I got an express ticket back on the Stress Train when I returned in January. The good news is I’m handling it a bit better this go around. For the start of this blog at the end of 2024, you got a few tidbits floating in my soon-to-be-end-of-sabbatical brain.

That said, dear reader, I will prioritize you. You’re on my calendar. Even if I’m typing into a void, it’s healthy for both of us to get things off our chests and brains and hearts.

I’m reminded to put some cooking hacks here. I’m also reminded to post my growing cache of stories I write to keep me sane. I’ll put both here in the coming weeks and months.

Thanks for reading – and for keeping both of us held together in this fractured world.