The mode I'm in right now can be most succinctly described as "Forgive Thyself." I haven't been to yoga in months. I'm sending my kids to school with Lunchables, leaving my bed unmade, forgetting to ingest anything but coffee until mid afternoon more often than a living human being reasonably should, and most certainly not drinking the physician-recommended amount of water.

I am getting through the day. One day at a time.

But, you know: this should probably change. Like, soon. And so I have decided that the Forgive Thyself Era may last until January 1st, at which point I will be changing All Of The Things. Here is a shortlist of plans that I have, which I am putting here so as to be held accountable.

View from my backyard, Friday morning.

Honestly, you guys. You'd think that by this point 2018 would have, as my mother would say, had the biscuit. Except the hits just keep on coming.

So here's what the last couple of days have looked like (and please scroll to the bottom if you want to skip hearing The Tale Of My Weekend, and just want to find out how to help those who have been seriously impacted by the events in California over the past week). I started hearing reports about the fires as I was driving home on Thursday night. By Friday morning, the view from my backyard was that picture you see up there: a huge ball of smoke that just kept growing and growing and growing, getting wider and taller and darker with each passing hour. Planes flying directly overhead carrying water and emergency rescue supplies. The whole deal.