And there goes January...

OK, January isn't gone yet.  Still a few days left.  But it's my last day of work for the week, and when I'm back at this desk again, it will be February.  And that's kind of bewildering.

Januaries are weird.  I think I always have this thought as I watch the first month of the year fade away.  On one hand, it's like zip, poof, bam - she's gone!  Where the heck did that month GO?!?  On the other hand, Christmas feels like it was a million years ago, and in that respect, the month seems to have dragged on forever.

The January Blahs.  I've had 'em.  Not that I've felt particularly blue or anything.  I truly do love this time of year, when the weather is cold and the snow has fallen.  It encourages hibernation.  I relish the days of making soup and baking cookies, working on jigsaw puzzles and adult colouring, watching movies or reading, sipping hot chocolate... I've made great efforts to get my ass out of the house (even if it's just across the road to Shannon's to paint), so I haven't totally become a grizzly bear in hibernation, but my instinct this time of year is to curl up in a blanket and disappear, and I really do like to do that.

That said, I haven't escaped the Blahs, either.  As I mentioned, Christmas feels like it was ages ago, and that makes me a little sad.  The warm & fuzzy holiday glow is my absolute favourite, so when it rescinds, I feel a little empty and I hate letting it go.  Then it takes me a while to adjust to reality after the holidays. The first few weeks of January are a little rough as the transition from Christmas to New Year gradually takes place.  It takes me a while to find my feet, to get used to embracing the slower pace, to settle in to the routine of the quieter winter months.

It's not an unwelcome time of year... it's just... different.

I've mentioned to a few people that I seem to have fallen into an odd and slightly alarming pattern this January.  I get home from work shortly after 4 in the afternoon, and I usually read for awhile before supper.  Then I eat, I work on a puzzle or colour, I watch TV or a movie, and suddenly I'm falling asleep on the couch at like 7:30-8:00 in the evening.  I move up to my bed around 10 and then sleep through the night.  I'm getting something like 9-10 hours of sleep some nights.  I've tried drinking a late afternoon coffee (something I usually never do).  I've tried finding something to do in the kitchen.  I've tried keeping busy. But sometimes there really isn't anything to do.

Like, am I seriously becoming a grizzly bear???

When I tell people about it, they usually just shrug and say, "It's that time of year..."  And I guess it's the truth.  It's still getting dark early, the pace is slower, and curling up on the couch sounds like more fun than trying to find a project.  Because believe me, there ARE things to do.  Cleaning closets, de-cluttering the house, scrapbooking, organizing my photos, etc... all jobs I had on my list of things to do this winter that all have remained untouched as of yet.

A whole month wasted?  In some ways, maybe.  But part of me really thinks that's what I'm supposed to be doing right now... hunkering down and soaking up my beloved winter days.  These are the days that many people are wishing away, as they count down the days to spring and pray for more sunlight and warmer weather.

Not me, though.  I'm more of a "gaze out the window at the snowflakes falling" kind of girl.  Hibernating is my thing.  I'll rouse myself eventually.  I'll get things done.  But January was my month to curl up in a ball and hide away.  I think that's the best way to ride out the Blahs.

We'll see what February brings...