Okay so the 12 months of 2025 are gone, gone, gone and it's time to look ahead and get planning for the next busy 12 kicking off with the long month of January.
Honestly, January is not my favorite month. In fact, thanks to the short days here in the Pacific Northwest (we get light only til 4/4:30 each day) and loads of drizzly rain with cloud cover, January is my least favorite in a monthly line-up.
In the South Pole Santa books, January is Slumber Month and all the elves plus Santa and Mrs. Claus sleep the whole month of January. After the super busy holiday months they need the rest! It seems like a wise use of January to me.
But I've been trying to change my attitude about the month. I mean so what if it is bleak and wet and dark and endless, even villains in stories are rarely all bad. So with that in mind, I've been deliberately approaching January with a brighter, more welcoming attitude, and seeing the gifts it offers. Like:
- It offers us a slower pace. Maybe not in the sunshine states so much but up here in the upper left, things slow down with the shorter days. People are more likely to tuck in at home in the evenings and stay home.
- And that slower pace at home provides more free time. For writing. For organizing. For having friends over and playing games. For working puzzles. For cleaning out my closet. All those things I seem to be too busy to get to when the pace picks up.
- The dark days help me welcome and appreciate lighter and longer days even more. I always wonder where people living in paradise, er, year-round sunny locations, like to go on vacation. I mean we have so many places we can go in pursuit of some sunshine but sunny weather people hardly need more sun.
- Plus, that's another gift of January: giving us a good excuse for a getaway to the sunshine! It means we have a great reason for a short trip to start off the year. Should we go to Arizona? Down to Palm Springs? Over to Hawaii? Any place with more light makes January a lot more fun!.
What are your favorite things about January? I welcome good tips on how to add joy to this winter month.
Happy New Year! - Jingle