In the first week of the new year, my husband took my kids, ages 6 and 10, to Tahoe for four days. Every single parent I have told this tidbit to has reacted in the exact same way, which is to say that they have stared at me for a long time, their faces conveying equal parts envy and disbelief and said, “So you were just home? By yourself? The whole time?”
Look, I love my kids more than life itself, it goes without saying, but four days without having to tend to their every need? Without having to make dinner or drive to some sort of youth sports practice or nag them about homework/jumping on the furniture/putting their shoes away? Without needing to do bedtime? My god, it was incredible! This is how tidy and calm my house looked every day:
On the first day, I basically just sat right there on the couch, marveling in the silence. After the hullabaloo of Christmas, which felt like a three-week uphill march during a tornado, being alone in my calm, quiet, beige-toned house was a balm to my soul. I went to a few pilates classes. I worked on a story I was on deadline for. I had my sister over and we watched “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” (recommend!) and ate Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough from a little pouch whose suggested serving size we completely ignored. Classic mom alone time! I not only ate girl dinner, but also girl breakfast, girl lunch, and many girl snacks. I finished season three of Emily In Paris (awful, but also great.) I went on lots of blustery walks with my dog while wearing an oversized sweatshirt. I did not do any of the organizing projects I promised myself I would do, and I did no writing apart from the writing I was being paid for, and I did not beat myself up over that. (Also recommend!)
Of course, I missed my kids and my husband, and I woke up every night at 2am thinking I’d heard a weird noise that would turn out to be a home invasion, but it was some pretty quality alone time to kick off the beginning of the year, and I relished it.
And now somehow here we are in mid-January! I know people always say that January feels like it’s three months long, but it’s going fairly quickly for me this year, possibly because, for the first time in many years, I didn’t kick off the new year with some sort of impossible, soul-crushing resolution and instead just decided to, you know, let the soft animal of my body love what it loves, which has mainly meant making lots of cozy, grain-based stews and trying to read every day. I figure I have until at least March to be all OMFG WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH THE YEAR, so I’m leaning into that.
I’ve also been planning a little trip for April, when my kids are out of school for spring break, because my brain functions better when I have something to look forward to (I wrote about that here.) Truly, I am never happier than when I am planning a vacation. There are people who make money doing this — not actual travel agents, just people who enjoy researching trips and finding cool accommodation and putting together itineraries — and this year I have been wondering if I could be one of them, but for now I am just noodling on our own little trip, which is going to be a jaunt to the Pacific Northwest, starting in Seattle, meandering over to Vancouver Island, heading back to the U.S. and driving the pretty way down the coast of Oregon (honestly, we could get there quicker but I am for some reason obsessed with the idea of visiting the Tillamook factory), and winding up in Portland to see some friends who moved there last year. I have been to Seattle, but not to the other places, and I’m having a ton of fun figuring out what we’ll do — 90% of which is obviously where and what we’ll eat — in each place. If you have any recommendations, I’m all ears.
Speaking of recommendations, and also of cozy, grain-based stews, the two most delicious ones I have made so far this month have both been by Caroline Chambers, whose What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking Substack is a non-negotiable part of my monthly budget. I implore you to make both the Coconut Curry Lentil Veggie Stew and the Lemony Chicken Orzo Soup (I don’t eat chicken, so I made the vegetarian swaps she suggests — my favorite thing about her recipes is that she consistently gives super flexible substitutions for people who either don’t like or don’t have an ingredient; tbh, this is life-changing — and it was eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head good.) More soups and stews in 2024! More flexibility!
I have *many* Vancouver Island recommendations. Are you sticking to the Victoria area or will you be heading up island?
Stews and feeding the soul of your soft animal body 💯💯💯 And books!!!! As always, you cleverly lasso your beautiful written words into an experience that feels familiar and refreshing! More Holly Substacks in 2024 please ❤️ Also, my grandmother was born in Tillamook. Have made many drives there from Portland. Cheese is 100, there are fun places to get amazing oysters 🦪 at little shacks, and the Tillamook ice creamery is delicious! On the way from Portland southbound, there is a beach called Manzanita - less touristy, really cute cafes (think Marion-berry French Toast, and the beach is gorgeous!!!