For the past several years, at the end of the year, I have chosen a “Word of the Year”—a word that encompasses what I want the coming year to be about.

This past year I chose “Joy.”

Enter 2024, and for the first 2-3 weeks, I was anything but joyful. In fact, I would have called myself a curmudgeon. Cranky, lethargic, and sugarless.