There are still 2 more months for me to be 29. So this reflection on being is potentially premature. But there are only a couple more days left to be in 2023–and besides, I have a feeling that I’ll have something entirely new to say by February.

2023 eclipses 2020 as the year that required the most work. A different kind of work, anyhow–less scaffolding, and more plumbing. More electrical, more structural. The kinds of things that keep the house running now that it’s standing. And sometimes i...