January and February have always been, for me, the time of year where I get a bit down. This is probably due to the fact that the festivities of the holidays are over, and that there is still a long stretch of winter ahead of me before spring arrives. But then, wintertime is probably my second favorite season after fall, so why do I hate January and February so much? Especially February. I can’t think of any childhood trauma that is linked to this, and the sun is staying up longer every day, so it’s not seasonal affective disorder, either. Maybe it’s because it’s around this time of year that I reflect on my life and see how much I have not achieved as yet another year has ended. Perhaps it’s because I look ahead to the year and become overwhelmed with all the things that I am going to have to do. Anyway, this manifests itself in my being moody, introverted, and totally pessimistic in my attitude about everything. It’s hard to fight, and I am sure JC finds it less than amusing to live with, but sweetheart that he is, he never says anything and lets me have my bad mood. Whatever the reason, it just happens, so it will be a few more weeks before I start to feel cheerful again. In the meantime I try to focus on the positive things in my life.
#1: It’s cold. Positive, you ask? Well, yes, I like the cold weather, as long as I have a good coat and good socks and boots. There’s just something that makes me feel alive and happy about being outside in the cold. And no, I do not feel happy when it’s hot outside. Yuck. We have been spending quite a bit of time outdoors this winter and there are some fascinating sights. Yesterday on our walk with Luna we went to a favorite place of ours, Lincoln Woods State Park. This week it has been colder than normal, so we haven’t been as happy about it as we usually are:
It was so cold that the lake was totally frozen over. There were quite a few skaters and ice fishermen out there, but we did not venture onto the ice ourselves. The area where we live is weird in that we don’t get much snow, but we get lots of ice and cold, spitting storms. I had to pull out my storm trooper mask so my face wouldn’t freeze:
And JC busted out the full on winter parka. Luna is probably the only one of us that was happy about the temperature:
#2: The Young Women of my church had an activity yesterday where they started taking lessons on how to use a sewing machine.
Look at that great old machine! The girls did well and learned how to sew their first straight line—something that I still have a hard time with after all these years! They were so proud and now they can’t wait until the next lesson. It was great fun.
I am still working hard at bringing cheer into the season—I’ve still got all of February to get through! Until then, my snarly self is ascendant.
4 comments:
Matt and I have been under the weather lately too (more so than normal). I'm sure it will get better when we get a few more projects done on our house and the weather warms up. Hopefully the winter will be short and the spring long.
I'm stealing your pictures!
I hear you on the January/February blahs! I still blame it on SAD...the days aren't quite long enough, and there isn't Christmas to get me out of the blues.
And I don't really mind the snow and cold either. It's just the dark that gets me.
Thanks a million for the French help. I got it. Those words were really throwing me for a loop.
Mwah!(blowing kisses at you)
The girls look like really liked the sewing. I need you to come visit me and teach me how to sew. Mom is leaving her machine when she goes to Guat, and I need some major help learning how to use it.
You and Juan Carlos are both looking fabulous! Love you!
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