It hit me as I was driving down the road, warm gloves on my cold hands, breath visible and sky a crystal clear blue.
I love January.
It’s an oft-ignored month, I think. The month after the hustle-and-bustle of the holidays, the month before the shortest month of the year, the month when hearts and all things red and pink begin to sneak into the drugstore.
Poor January.
For some, it is nothing more than a few half-baked intentions scribbled down on a piece of paper and taped to the refrigerator.
But to me, it is new beginnings. Fresh starts. The hope of trying something new, of embracing the old parts of me but discovering the parts that are always changing, that are always up for an adventure.
It is a month full of hope and possibility. The days are short, but the nights are long, and I love walking the surrounding neighborhoods with Jordan each night, getting glimpses into homes where people have gathered nice and cozy with their families, taking it easy on the couch by the fireplace, reading good books and watching television.
I like the calm that January brings. The holidays are lovely, full of excitement and fun, staying up late and spending time with long-lost friends and family. But there is something to be said for the calm that comes after the storm, for the holing up in your house and the buying of groceries and the return to routine.
Every season brings with it its own magic, and for that I am grateful.
But it is January’s magic that has captured me now.
It has my attention, and I am devoted to it. I hope it will be kind to me in return.
* print by Lizzy Stewart
6 comments:
beautiful post Annie, you are a wonderful writer!
I usually look at January as a let down to a lot of excitement but I love your spin in thinking on the first month of the year:)
Julie
The first 2-3 days of January are always a bit sad to me after the holidays, but once it really gets going I always enjoy it too. Happy January friend
I love January too! This reminded me to make the most of this month we are in right now and not look too much into the future. Good stuff!
Well said. Here's to being present this month and enjoying it's season!
I see the transition from December to January as the finishing of a journal to start one anew, as the taking down of a completed painting to put a freshly blank canvas up on the easel. It makes me think of what my high school counselors always said: "Your freshman year counts, because it sets the tone for your high school career." And I see January that way - as the tone setter. I realize we may live January at the height of excitement to find the rest of the year is a disappointing one, personally, professionally, etc. But I think the thing we can control is our attitude, our perspective, and if we approach January with the attitude that is an end rather than a beginning, I think we unconsciously short our year hardly before it's begun.
And I see your post as part of the freshness that renews my faith this month, as a stroke that paints perspective on my canvas, the pen that writes hope at the beginning of this chapter.
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