chuseok
     ^^^^^^^
                                                   October 3, 2023

Today is the last day of an extended holiday for us here in Korea.
This year Chuseok overlapped with Gaecheonjeol, so we got nearly a
full week off. The peak for us was camping out with my wife's
family at her late grandma's old house in the country over the
weekend.

My wife's family on her mom's side all live in the same town. Some
five or six years ago we moved into our own place in a town about
45 minutes away, so we don't get to casually hang out with everyone
like we used to. It has its pros and cons. It was really nice
getting a chance to get loose with everyone again, though.

Our kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with all their cousins, and
they played so well together. I was very impressed by the older
kids and how they included all the little ones. We set up our tents
and made a little campfire around which to have some mid-afternoon
makgeolli. Eventually we had dinner and the kids got to stay up
extra late playing and singing around the fire.

We got into some fun topics burning the midnight oil under the
stars with some beer and soju. It was not too hot or cold, and the
breeze was just right to be invigorating without giving us a chill.
My soon-to-be 4 year-old fell asleep on my lap under a big fuzzy
blanket, and I just continued to hold him like that for over an
hour because it was so cozy. Eventually I ended up in the tent with
him and his big sis. One of my favorite things in life is snuggling
them in a tent like that. This last summer we had a chance to do
that quite often while we were in California, even during the peak
heat of the season. I always feel so re-energized sleeping out like
that.

Now I am back at the grind, but with a little bit more gusto. I am,
in fact, exhausted, and I have tons of work to do. But I am making
progress and feeling optimistic about everything.