January, the darkest month!

Well, I pulled the plug yesterday. Not on life support or anything that earth shattering, but on the outdoor lights and display that decorated my house for the Christmas holidays. With the threat of freezing rain in our area for today, the deer and their "forest" were taken inside, and the lights on the eaves had their plug pulled. Many other neighbors have done the same on their homes, so the court that was once lit up from one end to the other is now going dim, one house at a time. There are still a few diehards who have kept the electricity flowing, but each day they are fewer and farther betweeen!

Not only do the lights of Christmas dim in January, but the sky seems to follow that same pattern, it is usually dark and dreary most days in January. It is the month when SAD appears in many people (Seasonal Affective Disorder--you are restless, tired, depressed, and can't get your mojo on). No wonder so many folks who are able flee to the south like the birdies and soak in the sun until spring!

This month brings memories of sadness from my past, my mother passed away in January, my father-in-law was hospitalized with a terminal illness in January, but he hung on til February. It seems like January is a month of funerals.

Of course, there is always the dismal financial picture. Big bills because of Christmas spending, this year the stock market gutted my savings! No retail therapy to cure the January blues for me this year! Plus my first paycheck doesn't come again until mid-February! I may be eating a lot of hot-dogs this month.

We'll start the new semester soon, which is an upper for me, but many days we battle snow and ice just to get to school! We have a thin coating of ice on our streets right now, that is complicating a lot of early morning travel in this city. Many schools are closed today, and you can't even tell why, until you start to walk on the sidewalk! Thank goodness the college doesn't start until Jan. 20th.

So happy January. I always feel like I've battled the beast and won when I'm still alive on Feb. 1, still have a job, haven't broken any bones falling on the ice, no fenders have been bent on the vehicle, haven't been foreclosed on yet, and maybe, even maybe, have lost a few pounds because of following my yearly plan to get on track and get in shape as a new year's resolution.

This is one month I wouldn't mind losing from the calendar! Hey Julius Caesar, why did you do this to us?