Today I woke up feeling dread. Bad news, in my experience, comes in waves and this whole year has been one wave after another. So I did what I tend to do when this happens… yard work. I hate yard work but I can’t deny that it makes me feel better. So when I had time during my lunch break I grabbed my work gloves and my wheelbarrow and went outside.

This November, it’s too warm and dry. It feels a bit alien. And yard work put me in close proximity to bugs, which I also don’t enjoy. And my yard is big. There is so much work to do.

The truth is, that this year I …