Winter Blahs

The Christmas decorations are put away. The kids are back in their school routine after a two-week break. Everything outside is covered by a blanket of snow several inches deep. Yep. Here they come right on schedule – the winter blahs.

We have lived in Michigan almost 9 years now – wow is that hard to believe. I typically love the summers here. Lots of sunshine and warm days with very little humidity. This past summer was a little cooler than I would like, with only one day in the 90s, but usually, I love Michigan summers. Fall is beautiful in our town once the leaves start to change, showing off all the colors in God’s paintbox. Spring is a little cold for my taste, but new life can be seen everywhere you look. Grass starts to peak out from under layer upon layer of snow, trees start budding, and my roses awaken from their slumber.

Winter is another matter altogether. The ground is covered with snow for weeks and sometimes months at a time without melting away. It is cold and windy. It is not uncommon for us to go an entire week without seeing the sun through the clouds here. Not even a hint of blue sky during these times. A doctor once told me that our area is the second most cloudy area in the continental United States. I never bothered to fact check that one for fear that I might find out we were number 1 instead of number 2.

For the last few days, I have had very little energy. This weekend I let dishes sit in the sink and laundry go unfolded for a lot longer than I care to admit. I caught myself staring out the window for at least 5 minutes this morning before I snapped back to reality. I dislike feeling like this, quite the opposite of my usually joyful and energetic personality.

I need a cure for the winter blahs, or at the very least a good treatment. I thought relocating a few thousand miles south seemed like a good idea. My husband was not “on board” with this suggestion, however. So for now I will have to look into alternative treatments to snap out of my funk. My (admittedly short) list of alternatives includes:

• making some chai tea and starting a book
• going down to our basement office/sewing room and starting that quilt I need to make for my daughter or doing some long overdue filing
• picking out paint colors and finally painting my dining room or bedroom
• making plans to take the children to the next homeschool day at our local indoor water park

Swimming and fun with the kids might be just what I need to bust through these blahs and get moving again. Perhaps one Friday in the not to distant future we will hit the water park for some splash therapy. I’m feeling better just thinking about it.