The holidays’ end always brings a tinge of sadness. All the anticipation, all the preparation, all the excitement — all behind us now, gone in a flash. Sure, there’s one last hurrah with New Year’s Eve coming up, but that’s just one evening. For us, it’s never really had any tradition behind it like Christmas.

Tomorrow, K goes back to work, M and T return to Ashville, leaving C for a couple of more days. Life slowly transformed into the holiday season, and now — boom! — it’s back to normal. But that’s probably a good thing. Living this kind of life all the time would make it the new normal. We’d struggle to get through endless parties and celebrations just as we sometimes struggle to get through seemingly-endless weeks at work and school.