February 8th is shaping up to be a big day in Congress. That is the day the United States’ short-term funding legislation expires. It’s also the day that DACA is fixed, disaster aid is arranged, military spending is worked out and a long-term budget agreement is finished. (If you’re reading this in the dystopian future, Feb. 8 is about three weeks away from now.)

The magical 8 date came about because that was the day Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Mitch McConnell agreed would help end the government shutdown. The Democratic leadership decided to end the three-day shutdown based on a promise from McConnell that he really, really, super-duper promises to allow some bipartisan immigration legislation to be heard before the Senate in February.

On the bright side, Democrats were able to get CHIP funded, which Republicans had offered to do before the shutdown. Methinks we’ll be back in the same place on the 8th; hopefully this time will be different—hard to imagine, though, with a crazy man in the White House and a complicit majority party in Congress. Enjoy the meditation breather, and be sure to visit me on Patreon!