Around this time of year I starting to get a little blue: the days are still long and there are more clouds in the sky than sunshine. It’s freezing. It’s windy. It’s slushy. I can easily climb into bed when I get home, or eat until it’s time to go to bed. A bad weekend weather report can send me into a planning frenzy, listing all the binge watching I want to do, what snacks I will need and what sweats I will wear for the duration. I get mad because I have to go outside to walk my dog and I put it off until he is crossing his legs.
If I let it, winter can claim me as a casualty. So I have to fight back. I have to fight the urge to “hunker down.” Here are some of the tricks I play on myself. Maybe they will help you get through the season better.
So fight the winter doldrums any way you can, and let me know what works for you, other than pie!
Read MoreFebruary can be a rough month for women who are sixty and single. I have never cared much for Valentine’s Day, whether I was in a relationship or not. It always seemed forced and competitive and just too much. When the kids were little I remember it being a huge celebration that was only rivaled, in the elementary school, by Halloween. It felt like a popularity contest among the children and among the mothers.
So, during the years that I knew my marriage would be ending it was torture. I thought I wouldn’t miss Valentine’s Day one bit when I became single, but I was wrong. I didn’t love it before, I hated it now that I was sitting in my tiny apartment with my dog, Red, having a pity party. Now, it wasn’t an option so it became important to me. Go figure.
Immediately following Valentine’s Day is President’s Day Weekend and that first year on my own seemed like every single human I knew went away for that long weekend. The weather was below zero and the word long to describe that three day weekend could not have been more accurate. It was bad, I was miserable and I now knew what was like to be alone during the Valentine’s Day week. I told my self that I would never again experience that kind of loneliness over a stupid holiday and a stupid long weekend in February.
Since that bad February a couple of years ago I have made it a point to travel during the middle of the month of February in order to avoid a meltdown. It doesn’t have to be a big trip, just one that keeps me busy doing something I love. I might go to my hometown and visit friends, or take a knitting class or visit one of my children. Anything that will keep my brain engaged is perfect for the middle of February.
Now, if you don’t have someone to love on Valentine’s Day, find something you love to do and enjoy. That’s more fun than exchanging a card anyway, right? Treat yourself, get through the rough days and remember Spring is right around the corner.
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