With short, dark days and stressful holidays, the winter blues crawl into all the crevices and invade your feelings. Even the happy days are tainted with that slightly blue feeling. It is hard to shake when the days seem so short and there seems to be no time to get anything done. It causes my anxiety to skyrocket, making me feel like I am never going to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The new year is supposed to be a fresh start but how do you restart when you cannot shake the blues?
I do not make resolutions for the new year. I have goals for for the next little bit that I reevaluate every couple months to see where I am at and what needs to be done to get me to that goal or if I need to change it around or get rid of it altogether if it no longer fits where I see myself going. This time of year makes it hard to reevaluate because I cannot get past the taint and see what I have done and what I am likely to accomplish within the next year. Usually I skip this whole idea of doing it at the start of January and wait until after my birthday on the 26th because it always helps boost my mood. This year though I want to push through those blues and truly start off the year much more positively than I have in recent years.
So my goal for the month (much more manageable than a whole year!) is to find one positive thing each day. It does not have to be big but just a little reminder of a small happiness or laugh or something that made me proud everyday. I am sure reading this you will think but that is so easy, there is something to smile about everyday. The thing is when you are stuck in the blues it can be so hard to see those little moments. I am not talking about the big things such as how happy I will be when I stain and set up my shoe rack tomorrow ( a week in the making of my hard work is a great accomplishment and makes me happy but is a planned happiness and relief to be done), I am talking a day without a potty accident and celebrating, sneaking the note to the tooth fairy out from under my daughters pillow and reading her sweet messages, my 4 year old finally getting her doll dressed completely by herself,etc. They are small things that are easily overlooked but that I want to reflect on and remember those small joys that made them so happy and we usually roll our eyes at or move right past.
I hope for a healthy, happy year for us all!
Four Squared Motherhood 