Sprout has not been well since last week. The Tuesday before yesterday, she had a fever which went away the next day, but in its place, cough and colds. Her condition has been improving after seeing her pediatrician and taking antibiotics (and with Francis coming home from a week-long official trip to Tagaytay), but bouts of phlegm-y coughing and mild diarrhea still keep us sleepless.

Weirdly, tomorrow is still January. I hope this dragging tone doesn’t set the trend for 2024.

But then, when I think about it, it’s almost February, too. Soon, it’s going to be March, and Sprout will be on her first flight. We will be spending the Holy Week with mama’s family in Cebu. Then, in a blink of an eye, it’s going to be May, and we will be receiving our mid-year bonuses. In June, Sprout starts schooling. Then, in August, she turns three. In October, I turn thirty-six. In November, Francis and I will have been married for four years. We will also have paid most of our debts, hopefully increasing our net worth. Then, it’s Christmas again. And then, it’s 2025.

For me, it could very well be the excitement of the coming months that makes this the longest January ever. And I realize I have not even thanked God for 2023. Here are some of the things I’m grateful for:

• For Sprout and Francis, forever
• For the health of my parents
• For the people abroad who gave me part-time jobs
• For the safety of my sister in the Middle East
• For Sprout surviving her second hospitalization
• For seeing my aunts and cousins from Cebu for my brother’s wedding
• For my library being chosen as a Book Nook partner site
• For my return to the Ministry of Lectors and Commentators
• For having three national finalist entries in Gawad Teodora Alonso 2023

It’s too late now but, happy new year.