Today was the last day of the Autumn term and the school closed until January. This gives me a much-needed holiday as we slide into a couple of weeks of non-contact time. I was genuinely glad to drive home after a very good first term in my new school… even though I am exhausted.

Holiday times are filled with opportunity when it comes to the hobby. A couple of weeks of downtime offers the chance to reimagine your gaming commitments and decide what to work on next. In my case, this is time to seek out a couple of sessions with online buddies as well as get in a few hours solo.

Of course, there’s usually a fairly big gap between my aspirations and my actual experience. Holidays are for rest and I tend to over-estimate my productivity when my body and mind needs to recover. This year, I am calibrating for a winter of slower activity because I sense that I simply need to get over my cold and invest in some low-pressure hobby.

Visits to see family, time chatting to friends, and trying to roll some dice are all on my to-do list. But as I approach 2023, I am going to shift gear down and see what easing back on the accelerator looks like. All in all, I just want to ease myself towards playing the kinds of games that I enjoy… and doing so more slowly.

Game on!