Hello, everyone. Happy New Year. A month late, I know but that's because what I'm about to say here… well, I debated sharing this because I tend to keep news of my personal life outside of websites such as this. But since I’m willing to bet that there are some of you that are wondering why I’ve been relatively slow with my story writing over the past few years (the last two years, especially), I felt that I should explain myself, in a manner of speaking. So here it is. Aside from working a full-time job, a large part of why I’ve been slow writing stories is because I was helping take care of my mother. If you're one of those users that have been watching me for 5+ years on DeviantArt, then you may remember one or more status updates of mine mentioning that she was ill. And since that time, I was taking care of her (with help), because due to this illness she had, there were many things that she could no longer do on her own. I do not want to say what illness she had but believe me when I say that it's something that gets worse the longer you have it. And in late 2024, well, she ended up taking a turn for the worse, requiring more and more around-the-clock care right up until the very end. Yes, she sadly passed away… in November. :( But it was a peaceful death, though. So there's that. …Man, I don't really know what else to say other than I miss my mother with every passing day. She was such an amazing mother. And as far as stories go, I will continue to write stories for as long as I can. And there will likely be more of them since… well… since I'm not really tied down with taking care of my mother anymore. God, I feel guilty for saying that. But it's true, though. With more time on my hands, I will likely get more stories written than what I have in previous years. So, I guess we'll just have to see what the remaining eleven months of 2025 bring. It won't be the same without my mother, that's for sure. But she'd want me to move on and that is what I intend to do.