January

Here's how I'm getting through

Just popping in to share seven ways I’m getting through January, such a long month, only second to February.

1. Citrus

   Winter is citrus season, and what better way to quell winter blues than by eating citrus that tastes like summer. It’s God’s little gift to us to help us through. Cara Cara oranges are our favorite and we eat them daily. We also make freshly squeezed orange juice. I enjoy seeing what other citrus we can find that isn’t readily available year round - blood oranges, for example. (I greatly relate to this video about citrus.)

2. Walks

   The days are short so you can’t wait for hubby to get home, you just have to bundle up, stick the baby in the stroller, and hit the road (the sidewalks are too icy). Even if it’s horribly cold, it’s still refreshing, and you come in, blood pumping, with the realization that, by golly, I’m alive after all!

3. Painting

   I like to keep a nature journal, but winter is always a tough time to find inspiration for painting. I recently discovered the illustrator, Matthew Rice, and his daily paintings have encouraged me to keep going. For me the key is to find other ways to incorporate color into the painting so it’s still fun even if the landscape I’m dealing with is brown, brown, brown. So I’m tapping into my imagination a little bit - adding fun borders or some other playful element.

4. Organizing

   I’ve been picking one or two areas to tackle each day that are well within the bounds of an hour or two of work - a junk drawer or dresser drawer. The feeling of slowly making some improvement in one problem area each day is very rewarding. I have a text thread going with a few friends where we share our before and after photos and it makes it more fun.

5. Fiction

   There’s gotta be some good fiction book going. Right now I’m listening to Harry Potter. I pair it with dishes or laundry. I do prioritize physical books, but saving one light fiction read for audio while doing chores is a must, imho. It may also mean you can rope interested children into what you’re doing.

6. School all day

   It’s generally excepted that morning hours are the best hours for lessons - but in January, no hours are the best hours. So I’m not trying to cram all of our lessons into the morning time. I’m spreading it aaalll out. My kids wanted to build snowmen yesterday, and if your kids want to go outside in the dead of winter, you let them. When they came back it was 2:45, and one child made hot chocolate to enjoy while doing penmanship. I cannot be bothered. We are getting things done - not everything, and not on a tight schedule - and that feels sufficient this time of year.

7. Delete apps, don’t buy anything

   Ok, what I mean is, pull back on consumption. The temptation this time of year is to feel bored and restless. Staring at four walls you may think, “I need to spruce this up!” You’ll go on the Target app and want to buy dumb stuff. Remember: that’s the stuff you’ll want to donate or throw away three years from now. Don’t do it! I find that when I intentionally cut back on shopping and scrolling I suddenly have bursts of creativity. (I even begin to think I should do wild things like put on a conference for women where I pull a bunch of inspiring people together to share their areas of wisdom…this was my thought two days ago but I told myself to cool it.)

It goes without saying that candles and tea and all things cozy are a must.

Peregrin, me, and my dad in Virginia earlier this month.