Well, it’s my least favorite month (more on that later) but it is the first Friday, which means I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date! Pour yourself one more peppermint mocha and let’s chat.
First of all… I already announced it yesterday, but just in case anyone missed it, my son got engaged on New Year’s Eve! This was not a surprise, as he told us his plans on Thanksgiving. I didn’t want to share it on the blog until it was official, and now it is! Wedding is planned for this summer.
Everything seems incredibly mundane after that, but I’ll forge ahead. If we were having coffee together, I would ask how you celebrated New Year’s Eve. I had an amazing day, starting with a COLD long run. This was the temperature when I started:
I mean- that’s legitimately cold, not just Florida-cold. And it was windy! I started off seriously underdressed, but of course warmed up as the hours went by. 22 miles on my trail at the edge of the Everglades.
Then, it was home to watch football! I spent a lovely afternoon and evening watching some great games (WOOHOO Hurricanes!), reading, and snuggling with the cats.
My husband was working, my son was in Texas with his fiancee, and my daughter was at a party (and slept over at a friend’s). I was flossing my teeth at midnight when the ball dropped, and then I crawled into bed. The cats were a little worried because of all the fireworks, so they both curled up with me in bed. It was the perfect day.
Ooooookay. Let’s talk about January. I’ve been trying to keep the festive feeling alive, but now that New Year’s is over I can no longer deny it- the holidays are coming to an end. I hate it! I love how bright and sparkly everything seems in December- it’s so hard to go back to normal. I go through this every year, and I know I’ll get over it. Eventually. But January is always my least favorite month.
What would you tell me over coffee? Any exciting news? Do you like the month of January?
Top photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash
42 Responses
Midnight flossing and cat cuddles are underrated celebrations!
I remember the January blues well from my employee-time, it was cold and dark and there was nothing to look forward to. Well, there were things but they were somewhere in the distant future.
I’d say: embrace the slow start, maybe plan a little treat for yourself each day, and give yourself time to ease back into routine. Any small goal or project to look forward to this month?
That’s great advice, Catrina. I do have a trip to Tampa in a couple weeks, and I’m looking forward to that. Somehow that seems “far away” but it really isn’t. I like the idea to embrace the slow start. For whatever reason, that’s what’s happening this year so I might as well go with it.
I don’t mind January- kids go back to school, I get a few days at hone before a new,semester starts, the house us clean and tidy after cleaning up after Christmas. I prefer cold to hot, so July or August would be my least favorite.
My exciting new: I’m going to be a grandmother if all goes well in July!!!!!! My daughter is a resident in ob/gyn, and lives 6 hours away, but I plan on helping as much as I can. My sisters, who also love babies and are retired, are checking their calendars too. Now if only my other older daughters would do the same- I have all these years of experience taking care of babies and toddlers- I’m so ready to be a grandmother!
OMG THAT’S HUGE NEWS!!! I’m excited for you! Six hours away isn’t too bad. You know I’m an “aspiring grandma” as well, so I can’t wait to hear all about it.
I do like the month of January, I like that fresh-start energy. And I especially like it here – Calgary was SO cold always in January, sometimes it would be in the minus 20s for weeks at a time, and that was really hard. But here it’s like zero and no big deal. I just like this feeling of a fresh new year. Yesterday I cleaned up all the Christmas stuff and while I love having the festive chaos, I also love when the house is all clean. Also! The days are getting lighter! That’s a big deal around here when in December it is dark before 4 pm.
But I am in the minority, I think most people don’t like January much. I’m going to send you some of my good-vibes, can you feel it (now singing Good Vibrations by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch). Can you feel it baby? I can too. God I hope you know that song, otherwise that’s just going to make things weird. Donny D’s on the backup! Drug free! So put the crack up!
Hee hee! Okay, I’m definitely feeling the good vibes! Thank you Nicole!
You know how I feel about January and post-Christmas blues. One day I’m feeling okay and the next I want to cry in a corner. And it is SO cold and windy and wintery here. The tree is down and most of the decor is put away and I’m TRYING to feel happy about all the extra space.
I think that I’m also realizing that my New Year doesn’t really feel like it starts until the kids go back to school. They’re still on their Christmas Break and no one has much get up and go. I’m hoping to get some of my mojo back on Monday when they go to school. BUT, then my sister and niece arrive on Wednesday for a visit so my routine can’t really get started so it will be MID JANUARY before there is any sense of order in my house. Eeks.
I am still so very delighted about your son’s engagement. What wonderful news <3
Thank you Elisabeth! And- I always weirdly feel even more sad when school starts again- like it’s the crowning blow, everything is officially over. I can see how you might feel differently, and I would probably feel the same in your situation. I guess you should take Catrina’s advice as well and embrace the slow start to the year! There’s no rush, mid-January is good enough.
Low 40s is legitimately cold! Make sure you’re dressing appropriately! (Sheesh. I sound like my mom.)
January is low on my list of months, but I’m not seriously sick of winter yet, so February, March, and April are even lower. Ha! Poor winter and early spring. They always get my wrath. BUT! Hey, Jenny, we’ve had so much snow this year and it’s so pretty and I definitely prefer snow-covered to grey and brown. So that’s something. It’s beautiful.
Yes, the snow does help make everything more cheerful. The thing I really couldn’t stand up there was the gray and brown. Who knows- maybe youll have a mild winter (with lots of pretty snow) and an early spring. It could happen!
I like the midnight floss and cuddle sesh! Plus a chilly long run!
We’ve talked about this before, but usually December and the holiday season is a bit of a downer and then January is a nice fresh start where I get a ton of stuff done. Well, I’m still feeling great about January, but I couldn’t help but notice that this December was a ton better than normal. Gee I wonder if the fact that I don’t have my soul sucking job and insane end of year work projects has anything to do with that?
Ha, yes you might be feeling a bit different about things! I’m glad December was better than normal for you. I can see how the possible pressure of the holidays could be relieved when you don’t have a soul sucking job.
I don’t have a ton of love for January either. It is the last month of the fiscal year for work, so in addition to being cold and gloomy there’s added pressure with year-end stuff and so many TEAMS meetings!
Ugh- that does sound unpleasant! I have another complaint to add- why does December go by so fast and then Jaunary goes on FOREVER??? Stupid month.
Congratulations on your son’s engagement! very exciting!!
I was prepping my bed and laying out my pajamas at 11:30 pm on NYE 😀 We had my best friend over so it was the three of us; we watched the regular music program, opened up some prosecco at midnight, chugged that down and then we all proceeded to hit the sack LOL. PAR-TAY.
January is my least favorite month BUT two of my favorite people have birthdays (the hubs and the stepson) so there is some celebrating still happening. It’s really freaking cold here, and every January (as well as October) I swear I am finally going to move to Spain (and every year I do not).
I’ve committed to blogging again this year so I’m looking forward to a lot of more catching up with you!
Yay to more blogging!!! And- my husband also has a birthday in January It’s almost at the end of the month though, and we never seem to do anything supre fun, somehow. Maybe we’ll make more of an effort this year.
Wow that is such a cold run! Burr! I am glad you warmed up but yikes that is terribly cold you guys!! You probably don’t even really have the right apparel for 30s feel like temps! But good for you for getting your run done and then having a cozy rest of the day.
NYE was just an ordinary day for us. Phil did open the champagne he won at a charity golf tournament he golfed in this past fall so we enjoyed a glass of that. But Paul was in bed at 8:30 and I turned off my kindle at 10:30 so it was pretty ordinary. Paul did say he wants to plan a party next year. So we discussed that while enjoying some macarons at a cute bakery. I talked to him about the elements of a party. He was probably in a party planning mood since we booked his SkyZone birthday party for 2/28 that day! But I kind of doubt we will actually have a NYE party next year, unless it’s at like noon. LOL. So many people are gone on vacations and such so it would be hard to find friends to come over.
I don’t love January because it’s usually a terrible weather month, but it sounds like it will warm up to the 30s which will feel so nice for us! I like the fresh start feeling of a new year. And we keep our tree up until mid-January so I can enjoy the beautiful glow of our tree. I decided I will take it down on MLK Jr Day this year. I will probably take the stockings and felt tree down soon though as they are not as cozy for me as the tree.
No one in Florida has the proper clothing for feels like 30 degrees! I was actually wearing shorts for that run, which might sound insane- but I would have been too warm by the end if I had worn tights (plus, I don’t even own any!)
Your New Year’s Eve sounds… quiet, which is probably just the way you wanted it. I agree it’s hard to plan a party this time of year- my daughter’s birthday was the 30th, and several of her friends were out of town, as always. It’s a really bad time to have a birthday!
Funny that you’ll be warming up to the 30s… I actually can imagine what that feels like now! Compared to your usual January weather it will feel balmy.
Congrats on your son’s engagement!
I have very mixed feelings about January – I love the holiday season and having everyone home so I’m always a little bummed when it comes to an end. On the other hand, I do like having a whole fresh year laid out in front of us.
Thank you Michelle!
I really need to embrace the “fresh start” mentality! I’m hoping it will happen when school starts again.
Can you put your holiday energy into Valentine’s Day? Get a cute heart wreathe for the door and switch to a cinnamon drink of some sort. Read romances/watch rom-coms/wear red and fuzzy pink slippers?
Well Sarah, funny you should bring that up because for no good reason, I’ve always disliked Valentine’s Day. BUT! I’m hoping this year will be different because Foxy’s birthday is February 14th- he’ll be a year old and we’ll have to celebrate. So hopefully this will change my bad attitude about the day.
Well, January isn’t just the coldest month in Iowa (probably the Midwest as well), but all the glitter and color of Christmas is gone. We’re in total agreement on that! That’s great news for your son and soon-to-be bride! Congrats to everyone!!!
Thank you Kim! And yes- I miss the glitter. Sigh!
Congratulations to your son an his fiancee! That’s such exciting news!
Let’s see, what can I tell you? We will be heading your way in early/mid February and I hope we’ll be able to have coffee or go for a walk together. We’re working on dates and I’ll text once we’ve finalized everything, but it will likely be around February 11-14’ish.
Happy New Year!
I should be here, Debbie! That would be fun.
I’ve been MIA mostly, but I’m here to say that January works out OK for me, because there’s basketball at the high school. Maybe next year I’ll be travelling to see Curly plan somewhere in college. I do get the winter blahs a bit, but that’s also in part because our weather sucks. There is a warmup happening next week and I hope to get out and run or walk outside without any dangerous icy patches. It’s the small things.
Um, if we had a coffee date I’d probably fill you in on what went down with my sisters. It was epic, and pretty incredible.
Oh yes, I know how terrible your weather is in January. I’m glad you’re getting a warmup next week, at least.
I hope we’ll get the story on your blog!!! If it’s a bloggable topic, of course.
Huge congratulations to you all! We have my daughter’s wedding coming up in April. Be glad you are the mom of the groom 🙂
Thanks Deborah, and oh yes, I am VERY glad about that! ; )
Low 40s is definitely cold! Brrr.
I am surprisingly ok with it being January… although I am a bit sad that the holidays are over, but my trees still up, so there’s that.
Your son’s engagement really is a great start to 2026, don’t you think?
It’s definitely a dramatic way to kick off the year! And, I’m glad you’re not feeling the January blues too much. Our tree is down but the other decorations are up, and it helps.
Congrats on your son’s engagement! Wow!
Sooo is there risk of gators at the edge of the Everglades?? Inquiring minds wanna know.
Working for a retail company, we are still very much in the holiday swing of things…if you like returns. Ugh.
Because I am on the cusp of some extended time off, I am feeling pretty positive about January this time around.
There are definitely alligators out there, but I haven’t seen any on this particular trail. They usually aren’t aggressive to humans, so it’s not something I worry about (I’m more worried about “bad” people when I’m out on a deserted trail. But I haven’t had a problem either way).
Having something fun to look forward to is definitely a cure for January blues!
That first thing is huge! Congratulations! There’s always room for more love in the world!
But I completely understand wanting things to stay the same cosy way they’ve been as well.
I had a mellow NYE as well, and it looks like you saw the year out with the book with you in it… so YAY for Jenny <3
I know Maya, that is so crazy that I”M IN A BOOK, WHAAAT??? I love it.
Congrats to your son. That is exciting.
41. Heat wave. It is so cold here.
I think I hate January too.
Darlene, I would definitely hate January if I had your weather! I feel like I should be appreciating our beautiful weather more instead of complaining.
That is cold, but hopefully it felt good to have chillier weather to start your long run! And what a great way to cap off the year!
I used to hate January when I lived in Colorado because it was so cold and snowy and there wasn’t a lot to look forward to. Now in Arizona, this is one of our best months of the year and the weather is usually always perfect so my trail runs are very enjoyable and I don’t have to wake up early to do my long runs. And last year and this year, I’ve had a race to look forward to in mid-January to help me get over the post-holiday blues!
Your runs leave me in awe. I mean, your run was practically a marathon, something that most people train for for ages. And yes, those temps were legitimately cold.
I’m sorry January is rough for you. I love it, because we generally get rain and things turn green. I dislike the dry season around here, which is pretty long.
Oh, congratulations to your son! How exciting! Wishing them every happiness!
My butt was in bed as soon as that game ended. Mr PugRunner went to a friend’s house to celebrate a little longer, and I tasked A with driving duties (it’s just in our neighborhood so I didn’t feel too badly about that).
Happy new year! It’s going to be a great one!
I like the newness of January, but it is always hard to get back to normal after the fun of the holiday season. (Especially getting back into the swing of work and routines – I was off work from 12/24 – 1/5 and it was SO NICE.)
I hope you’ll be able to shake off your funk, but sometimes it’s best to just lean into the suck. <3