Anyone who has read my blog for awhile knows how much I love Christmas. I may have also announced once or twice that January is my least favorite month of the year. It’s cold. It’s dark. There are no Christmas trees or lights or baked goods. Frankly, January has always been pretty depressing to me. As I type this, it is freezing cold and pouring down rain, and we have just put our Christmas decorations away. What a pathetic day! The holidays were over in the blink of an eye, and I am left with….blah.
For the past couple of years, I have combatted the January blues by booking destination races in Walt Disney World. Last year Bobby and I ran the Dopey Challenge, and the year before that, the Goofy Challenge. We also ran the marathon in January of 2011. Having a trip to look forward to right after Christmas seemed to “get me though” the post Christmas depression. This year, we have no marathon weekend trip.
As I started thinking about my distain for the first month of the year, I realized it was all in my head and it doesn’t have to be this way. I can’t plan a trip for every January for the rest of my life, and I shouldn’t go through an entire month sad that Christmas is over, so I need to figure out a way to love January. So, here is what I have come up with so far.
1.) New beginnings: January is a great time to start anew. State a goal, get healthy, start over, and bask in the blank slate that has been wiped clean for 2015. Now is a great time to make some exciting plans and work on ME, inside and out.
2.) Long distance race season: Here in the south, the winter is when we have all of out half and full marathons. They typically start in October and end in March. I have several races coming up, so I need to enjoy this time of being able to run, and stay focused on my schedule and my goals. It’s an exciting time since I haven’t really raced in over a year now. I’m pumped!
3.) Enjoy the weather: It’s a crazy amount of hot here in Mississippi for the better part of the year. This fact especially stinks when I am trying to train for a race (or really do anything outside for that matter). As much as I dislike cold weather, I really need to learn to enjoy it while it lasts, because it will not last very long and I will be wishing for it back!
4.) Slower pace of life: As much as I love the time frame from Halloween through New Year’s, it’s typically also a very stressful time. Dinners and parties, things to do with family, church, friends. Lots and lots of pressure! As much as I say I would love the holiday season to go on and on, I’m pretty sure at some point I would collapse in exhaustion! Now that everything is put away and the house is back to “normal”, I can exhale and just BE, without wrapping presents, decorating cookies, and loading up the car to travel.
I’m sure some of you are like me and get the post Christmas blues, and that’s ok. It is an amazing time of year and being sad it’s over is normal. However, be sure to not let your sadness rob you of the joy of all the things January can bring.
QOTD: Any other great reasons to love January that you can think of?
The best of football season! Even though FSU was eliminated last night and the Bucs never had a chance to begin with, I still love watching the playoffs, National Championship, and Superbowl games.
I started running the Disney marathon last year and it’s crazy how much of a difference that makes. I love having something to look forward to after the holidays!
I’m the opposite – I absolutely HATE Christmas time!! Not sure why, but I have been like this as long as I can recall back to being a little girl. I also hate the cold, and live in Maryland now. I’m like you and have been trying to find the positives when it gets below 70, and especially below 50. I just cannot do the cold. I don’t think I have a thermostat in my body! LOL!!!! I know it is not easy. But at least you are not alone!! Maybe you and I can encourage each other over the next few months! Hang in there! And now you have EK to help you through this time of the year 🙂
My birthday’s in January so the post-Christmas funk doesn’t hit until February. February in Boston was always depressing. The Christmas cheer was gone and it was at least two months until warm spring weather.
Mardi Gras is early again this year, mid February, so king cakes and many festivities are right around the corner. The first parade in Nola is Jan 6th! You could always make a day family trip to enjoy some of the coast even if it means fattening foods again. We celebrate everything as seasons, even Valentine’s Day. Which means we decorate the house with the seasonal things when we take the other down. We are waiting until the 12th day of Christmas to take things down this year and then it’s time to decorate for Mardi Gras, winter (blues, whites, snow flakes) or a few valentines things. We go all out at Halloween so to combat the feeling after taking it all down we decorated for Thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong I am itching to take it all down, but stretching it a little longer helps us enjoy the season realizing it is a season and not just a day.
Taking down the decorations is always sad – that’s part of my plan for today, and I’m not looking forward to it. I do like the fresh start of January though, planning new races and goals for the year.
Oh I definitely understand the post Christmas blues! I haven’t taken down my Christmas tree yet just because of that. I love this time of year and hate how fast it always goes!
I feel this way about January and February. The cold, shorter days, the germs/ constant sick kids — it’s my least favorite time of year. Marathon weekend definitely helps, so we should probably just do that every year! 😉
I also find the first days of January to be depressing, but then I try to focus on getting some clearing out/organizing done. Usually we have a trip planned at the end of the month which helps a bunch. This year we are taking a cruise and I am already thinking about what to pack as I nurse a horrible sore throat. Finding some good books to read is another thing I like to do after the holidays. I’ve already finished one and just started Meb’s running book last night!
I am the same way! I hate when Christmas is over and I think January and February are very long, dark, and boring. This is my first winter in Alaska, and while it’s really dark I find that the worst part is the lack of snow! I thought it would be snowy up here all the time, but we spent new years running a race in 43 degree temps in the rain. Pretty lame since I think the best part of winter is the snow and it’s going to be a long winter if we don’t get any more! I hope you’re able to get through the next month – just remember that spring is coming!