January – the Month of Dreary or the Month of Beginnings?

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary. (Edgar Allen Poe)

Can’t you imagine Poe writing that on a January Monday midnight?Chilled to the bone and unhappy, but with pen in hand?

I hope you’re not cold or unhappy. But let me ask you. Do you like winter? Do you like January? Or is it the month you want to slide on past and make way for February which can be pretty nasty on its own. But at least, February is shorter with Valentine’s Day right in the middle to make for some fun times and a great excuse to eat chocolate and brighten our houses with red and white flowers. But January seems to go on and on. A full 31 days.  

Around here in Kentucky, January can be the month of dreary when the sun hides behind the clouds. When the announced wind chills make you shiver even while you’re sitting by the fire. When snow can pile down, make travel impossible and cause you to fall prey to cabin fever. When the Christmas bills show up and the taxes loom. Are you depressed yet? Oh yeah, it’s a good month for that too with its short days and frigid air that keeps a person inside even when the sun does pop out from behind those clouds. 

Nobody needs a smile so much as the one who has none to give. So get used to smiling heart-warming smiles, and you will spread sunshine in a sometimes dreary world. (Lawrence G. Lovasik)

You can find smiles in January. Snowflakes that cover the gray January ground and brighten the world. Sunshine sparkling on the snow and ice. Hot chocolate without guilt. Books to read by the fireplace or all snug in under a soft blanket. A perfect reading month. 

January is a time of new beginnings. A time to try over if we’ve messed up. A time to look toward the blessings waiting in the year ahead. A time to be thankful for the gift of another year. A time to smile even on the gray and dreary days.