It’s January. In most places, the weather is lousy. Our New Year’s Resolutions may already have fizzled. It’s another Covid surge – maybe Surge #25, but who’s counting? As we head into the 3rd pandemic year, Covid is yet again isolating us from friends, family, and activities that bring us joy. And if we don’t have the luxury of working from home, we must come into daily contact with the virus. Supposedly we’re safe outside, but snow and ice can preclude getting out.
I’ve always found it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that December, January, & February are basically the same length of time as June, July, and August. The softness and colors of summer seem to fly by, while winter is the proverbial molasses going uphill in (you guessed it) January.
So let me try to cheer us both up. First of all, by the middle of January, we are only 6 weeks away from March. March: not too shabby! Groundhog Day is only 2 weeks away, and even though that little rodent generally sees his shadow, March is still right around the corner.
Winter is also depressing because there is so little daylight. But by the middle of January, days have been getting longer for almost a month. Perhaps only by a minute or two each day, but those minutes soon add up and we can see that the sun is setting later.
If you’ve made a New Year’s Resolution, resolve to FOGETABOUTIT! New Year’s Resolutions are frequently a way to punish ourselves for enjoying the holiday season, or to get down on ourselves for threadbare reasons. Why would I embark on self-improvement at such a dreary time of year? Think about making a Memorial Day Resolution. I may resolve to really enjoy the summer.
Please join me in counting the days til Spring. That’s kind of hard in October, but now it’s quite doable!