Goodbye January Blues!

OK, lovely people, January was not a good month for me. I am sure many people feel the same way about January. Everything winds down for December. Life becomes a magical fairy tale, and just when you think live if lovely and joyful…January turns up, smacks you in the face and reminds you that real life is very much still happening.

There is an emotional come down from the festivities and time off work and holiday cheer. January has no let-up, just cold, rainy, sogginess. January blues are hard to deal with some times. Anyone who suffers with Seasonal Affective Disorder knows that, by now, the winter has dragged on and seems to never want to end. It can be a really hard time.

Now, I love autumn and winter. I love the rain and the snow and the fallen leaves, and the bare trees and the darker evenings. I love all of that. I love Christmas and seeing family. I love seeing how kind people can become and how wonderful communities are and how much the time of year brings people together. I love all of that. So why has this January been so hard?

Well, there is a simple answer to that.

On the 27^th of December we got a call to say my Grandma had taken a turn. After two days of being by her side, listening to a slightly bizarre combination of hymns and ABBA, she passed away. It wasn’t a shock. We knew it was coming. We were all very aware that it could happen at any time. But, no matter how prepared you are, you can never really be prepared.

Family gathered together, but not for festivities like the world around us. We gathered together to shed tears and hold onto each other. Whilst the world got ready to excitedly welcome in the new year, we had to begin making plans to say our final farewell to a truly remarkable woman.

January became all about getting ready for the funeral. Making plans and preparations. Discussing flowers, photos, songs, memory after memory. All whilst trying to work. Seriously, why does January feel so much busier than any other month? It’s like everything slows down in December, then speeds up to a chaotic degree in January, as if trying to make up for masses of lost time!

The funeral was beautiful. Family I hadn’t seen in a while all came together. We finished the church service with Dancing Queen…honestly, it was the perfect bit of light relief that we all needed.

After it was all done. After all the worry about her health, the loss, the funeral, the memories. After all was over, I felt like I could finally breathe. February became the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, I say goodbye to January. Goodbye to the blues. Goodbye to 2025. Goodbye to the stress and the sadness.

Hello, 2026. Hello, February. Now let’s get this year really kicked off.

JT