Friday, January 8, 2010

January Blues...


With all the rush of holiday excitement, parties and food, it sometimes takes a while to recover. For me, I always feel a little blue in mid-January. While I love the holidays, they can be both exciting and stressful. There is so much going on in the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years that I look forward to being able to take a deep breath in January.

But then when mid-January comes and I'm left with putting away decorations and sorting through winter clothes that need to be brought to Goodwill. Then there is the snow keeping me housebound. January and February are cold and snowy months here in New England. With all that I start to feel a little bit of the blues. I start to miss the excitement of the holidays and at the same time are glad that life has calmed down.

Have you ever felt that? Happy and sad the holidays are over, both at the same time?

Since I work at home, I think it's easy for cabin fever to set in during the winter months. In the summer, I can always move my writing spot to the deck or find a quiet place on the lawn with my laptop or a good book. With 8 inches of snow on the ground right now, finding a quiet and relaxing space outside is not possible.

I find that getting out of the house works. I don't mean getting out to do chores like grocery shopping or picking up the mail at the post office. I need something to look forward to, like having coffee with a friend or even finding a local breakfast place with good Wi-Fi so I force myself out of my comfortable jammies and out into the world, even if all I do is converse with the waitress who fills my coffee cup. I'm pretty easy to please. I really don't need much.

What about you? What do you do to get rid of the January Blues?

Until next time, many blessings, Lisa Mondello

5 comments:

Linda said...

Enjoy the snow (used to be able to cross-country ski-that will make you LOVE the snow), read, blog, Bible study.

Pamela Tracy said...

I find that I get blue in the car of all places, especially if I'm the passenger. I'm weird.

Terri Reed said...

Hey, Lisa, this year I've scheduled a trip to Orlando in March so when I start to get that blue feeling, I remind myself that we'll be goin got Florida in a few months. Having something to look forward to helps.
Also, keeping busy. If I have time to think to much then I start to get blue. Though we don't have the snow like you all do. We've got the drizzly rain. I'd prefer the snow.

Debby Giusti said...

Lisa,
Recently even Georgia has been hit with arctic air and I'm freezing!!!! And feeling a bit housebound...although I do get out everyday. I need to see people, even if it's just in the grocery.

At least the sun is shining. Our dusting of snow is melting, and the temperature has risen to the 20s! Can spring be far behind?

Ramona Richards said...

Like Debby and Terri, I have to get OUT.

I have to admit disliking snow a LOT. My brother and I are both prone to seasonal depressions; we need LIGHT and lots of it. Unlike some of the northern areas we never get snow AND sun at the same time. If the sun comes out, the snow goes away.

So for me snow means only dreary days, stranded kids, and depression. The worst thing I can do is stay inside and read, which is horrid for a writer and avid reader. My solution is to get away from the computer, bundle up, and get outside as much as possible, even in the cold. And visit all the friends I've not seen since before Christmas.