Kathy Lyons | Wow, it’s January!

I am sitting at my (brand new!) computer for the first time in a week. Everyone has left from the holiday and it took me an hour to re-assemble my writing space from where I’d thrown things to hide them from company. I still don’t know where the new book outline is, but that’s okay. I wasn’t using it anyway. My cat is in blissful, purring heaven as she reestablishes her dominion over our house. She spent the entire holiday hiding from the dogs. We think she was under my bed, but my husband also saw her wedged into a corner behind furniture and a curtain. Amazing how tiny a space my chunky kitty managed to wedge herself into.

But all is done. Company (and all dogs!) are gone. Guess what I’m feeling.

1. Exhausted. I will sleep for a week and then think about taking a shower.
2. Confused. Who bought all this food that is now living in my refrigerator? And who is going to eat it?
3. Blissful. The house is quiet again except for happy cat purrs. Why did I ever think I wanted 18 people here for Christmas?
4. Terrified. I haven’t looked at my email in a week. Nope. Not even before I wrote this blog. What thing did I forget that is lurking there ready to explode into my consciousness?
5. Nostalgic. Ahh, the good times we had watching my sister deal with three kids melting down at once. Remember when we finished off the third bottle of wine and discovered that I had bought a six pack so we had three more? Remember the joy of having a four year old wake us up at 5 am on Christmas morning? After we’d stayed up playing Catchphrase until 3?
6. Brain-dead. There is simply no way to go from a week of family holiday gathering to the serious work of a writing career. No way. No how. Who can I call to delay the inevitable stack of work a little bit longer?

Answer: All but C. You thought it was everything but D, didn’t you? Because I’d never go a week without my email. True, I wouldn’t but somehow…I did! And now I really am terrified to look. As for blissful, regular readers know I’m an extrovert. I was blissful for about an hour. And then I started to feel lonely. Where did everybody go? When would I see them again? I swear I write books so I can have people to play with every moment of the day and night.

As for the rest, I’m still a little tired. Maybe not exhausted, but worn out maybe because I’m trying to go back on the caffeine-free wagon. And my refrigerator is bursting. Anyone want the extra pork loin I didn’t cook? How about the vegetables my healthy daughter bought and nobody ate? Or I know, the five bags of Christmas cookies that remain after we ate the other six bags? But truly, I would rather deal with laundry and dishes than face my workload. I just can’t face my Jan 15 deadline yet.

As for nostalgia, well, the ghost of Christmases past still lingers in my thoughts. And in case you thought you weren’t going to get to see any pictures, we did an afternoon craft activity of food architecture. Guess which one is mine!

Answer: The empty plate. Chocolate, candy, and frosting goes in my mouth. It never manages to find its way anywhere else!

So now it’s your turn. Tell me how you feel after your holiday. One lucky US commenter will get a copy of all four of my Bridal Favors series books: WHAT THE GROOM WANTS, WHAT THE BRIDE WORE, WEDDED IN SIN and WEDDED IN SCANDAL. The winner will also receive a mouse mat based on 50 WAYS TO RUIN A RAKE.