December-January transition (Jennifer R. Hubbard)

I have always loved the holiday celebrations in December: the parties and gatherings, the quiet days at home, the decorations, the music, the food. Even in years when sad events have intruded, I’ve found the holidays comforting rather than painful.

As of this writing, I’ve been enjoying December with my usual enthusiasm. January is the month that gives me trouble: it seems bleak and boring in comparison. The party’s over, quite literally, and what do we have to look forward to? Months of freezing cold and gray skies. It’s back to the drudgery of regular life, the chores, the alarm clock going off while it’s still dark out. People rip down the colored lights and tinsel that make December so warm. If January had a color, I sometimes think, it would be concrete-gray.

The past few years, I’ve had new books or new editions releasing in January, which at least helped the start of the year feel more festive. That won’t be the case in 2014, but the new year will bring new beginnings in a different way. I’m at a point in my life where I’ve been lucky enough to reach many of my goals, and now I’m thinking about what’s next.

Sometimes the blank whiteness of January is like a fresh sheet of paper, or the screen of a new computer file.

Comments

  1. Those "new file" Januaries are the best of all!

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  2. How mysterious! I'm excited to hear more about what shows up on your fresh sheet of paper! I hope it's terrific. (For me, January's okay - it's February that bites the big one.)

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  3. You always have such a way with words. I had to read this three times because I kept getting lost in the details. I like the idea of January is a clean sheet of paper. The holidays are so fun and it's a letdown when the season ends.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! And yes, I always find it hard to say good-bye to December.

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