Sandwiched
I don’t know about you, but I really got into the holiday spirit last month. Christmas carols went through my head during every waking hour. I watched more Christmas movies than I can count. I was enthralled by Carmel’s Christkindlmarkt and Newfields Winterlights. Our holiday celebrations, from Christmas, to Christmas 2.0 with my niece and her family, to New Year’s Eve with friends, were joyful and filled with fun. It was a magical December from start to finish!
And now it’s January. Soon everyone will be taking down their Christmas lights and decorations and returning to normal – whatever that is. It means that many of us will be in the throes of the dreaded January Blahs.
I wrote in a different column years ago about how January is just no fun. It’s a month filled with a bunch of people trying to get healthy (and often failing), extremely cold temperatures, and days that are getting longer but not noticeably so. Yes, Martin Luther King Day is celebrated in January, which is one bright spot. But that’s pretty much it.
However, I’m challenging myself and my readers to shake up January this year. Do some awesome stuff to make it memorable for you and your loved ones. It can be tempting to avoid going out and about, especially if you’re in the sandwich generation taking care of older parents along with kids. But bundling up and getting everyone outside is just the ticket for defeating the January Blahs and cabin fever.
If you’re going out with your elderly parent or parents, try a new restaurant this month, one with lots of comfort food. Visit a museum together – some offer wheelchairs you can use for free – and make new discoveries. We have so many wonderful, warm museums in Central Indiana (hello, Conner Prairie!) that you’re sure to find something everyone can enjoy.
Get out there with your kids and do some sledding. If you’re not so thrilled about climbing up those hills anymore, like me, try Koteewi Run snow tubing. Getting a tow up the hill to slide right back down? I love it! My family and I tried this last year and we’re going back this month.
Throw on your layers and build a snowman together … or a snow bunny… or a snow chinchilla. We won’t judge.
THEN, when you’re cold but happy, come on home, put on the hot chocolate, and practice some hygge. I’ve written about this concept before, but hygge (pronounced HOO-guh) means getting cozy and enjoying the little pleasures in life. For me, hygge means hot tea, warm fuzzy socks, a good book, candles, our (fake) fireplace, and/or eating a meal of comfort food and playing board games with friends and family.
Do all you can to not just “get through” January, but to thrive and enjoy many of its moments. Soon we’ll be in February, maybe even marveling about how time flies when we’re having fun.