When January is bleak...

{via Microsoft Images}

I've learned in recent years that January is a difficult month for me: it's cold.  It's dark.  It feels like winter will never end.

When Pooke was a baby, I tried to busy the January blues away: long to-do list, lots of rushing about, lots of projects.  Mostly I just got burned out and felt overwhelmed by all the things I didn't check off.

The next year, Pookie was just starting to walk, so I tried to escape from the blues: we went to the nearby mall nearly every weekday, just to walk the wide, open hallways and stretch our legs.  At least once a week we ended up at Taco Bell for a pop and burrito (for me) and a cheese roll-up (for her), even though I could have easily made these things at home...for much less.

I knew we had overstayed our welcome at the mall when one of the janitors waved at Pookie as she toddled by and commented, "Wow, you guys are here like every day," so I ended up feeling guilty and embarrassed.

I don't really remember last January; we were still in newborn mode, sleeping when we could, which wasn't often.

My strategy for this January?  We're hibernating.

When it's too cold to go out (which has been most of the time), we stay home.  We read stories, watch extra TV, sleep a lot, and eat as we please.1
I'm not getting much done.  Our grocery budget has been decimated.  Some days I want to climb the walls...

But overall?  It's probably the best January I've had in several years, simply because I decided to recognize my weakness rather than run from it.

January may be the month for resolutions, but around my house, it will now and forevermore be a month for sleeping, for dreaming, for resting.

And I don't think I'd have it any other way.

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^{1. Also? My people are eating me out of house and home! Apparently, two little people and a tall, thin husband can really pack it away when the temps drop below zero. Anybody else?↩}