I'm glad people are still enjoying DND
Our family recently welcomed our daughter into the world and it has been amazing, wonderful, and of course exhausting. As much as I love being a parent, it also means I no longer have the time to play D&D.
Our group recently finished The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. We ended up rushing the campaign because our daughter was due and one of our players was also moving away for a new job. Knowing that the campaign was coming to an end made those final sessions feel a little different.
When we finally finished, it was surprisingly emotional. I teared up. A few of the others did too. After spending a year and a half adventuring together, watching our characters grow and seeing all the ridiculous things our party got ourselves into... it felt strange to suddenly know that this particular story was over.
It reminded me of the Dr. Seuss quote: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
I couldn't quite bring myself to say that at the table, but I did tell everyone in our group chat how grateful I was, especially to our DM, for giving us such a wonderful adventure.
I probably won't be playing D&D again for quite a while. Life is pretty full right now and I am very happy about that but I still find myself lurking on Reddit and reading D&D threads at work. Seeing people talk about their campaigns, their characters, and the ridiculous things that happen around their tables makes me happy.
I think part of me is comforted by knowing that D&D isn't going anywhere.
Someday, when I have more time I'll find another table. I'll roll another character, sit down with a new group, and start another adventure.
For now, I'm just grateful that I got to have this one.
Until then, I'm happy just knowing that the game is still out there and you all are enjoying it...