Another blip of quiet here at Alcott House: the college boy and some friends went up north to see a show and spend an overnight in the homeland, so Tom and I reverted to usual form and became sleepy on the couch while watching large televised fish perambulate the ocean deep. I used up stale bread and leftover milk in a bread pudding. I put together a beef stew. I began making travel arrangements: to NYC in a couple of weeks; to Chicago in March. If Boy Land can't be with us, we will be with Boy Land.

Editing and syllabus-organizing hover scimitar-like over my head, but I'm also fighting an incipient cold and trying to reorient myself after the Christmas bonanza. So I'm purposely lazing: taking naps during the day, not rushing around, not trying to get everything done at once. I feel as if I need to husband my strength.

The boy will be back later today, and then tomorrow his college friend will arrive for an overnight here, and then, before dawn on New Year's Day, the boy will take off for his New York theater adventure and Tom and I will subside into our regular lives.

I might even start reading books again.