Is not easy on me. After the excitement and ritual and pretty lights of Christmas disappear, and I’m still left with at least two, probably three, maybe even four months of dreary cold and early sunsets, I get…well…not exactly “depressed”, but definitely down. Dissatisfied. Dwelling on the negative. Dampened in spirits. And a lot of other “D” phrases I could probably think of if my brain weren’t also feeling rather Dim.

Sometimes this Dissatisfaction can be useful. For example, I blame the January blahs on our decision to move to Chicago last year–those wheels were set in motion right around this time. That was a huge leap of faith for us, and ultimately, a great move. But sometimes dwelling on that Dissatisfaction can lead to Drastic Decisions that aren’t so well-thought-out in the end. It also can lead to my missing a huge chunk of the year. After all, whether I like it or not, January through March takes up a quarter of my life. Do I really want to wish 1/4 of my life away?

So this year, instead of just surviving each day while looking forward to That Day When It Will No Longer Be Winter like I do most years, I’m going to try to focus on the positive and actually find ways to–gasp–get out and enjoy the cold. Part of this was motivated by some deep conversation during my weekend getaway with Toni, whose new web project Bring the Family is inspiring in many ways, not the least of which photogenically (girl makes a midwestern winter look GOOD), and partly because I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired of myself for three months every year. Enough with the whining already! Isn’t it time I actually started living my life all the time, which include actually DOING STUFF rather than just READING about doing stuff because I’m too big a wuss to go outside?

So that’s it. I’m challenging myself to LIVE, January and February and March and even that really cruddy part at the end of March, when it’s basically just a world of cold slush outside. I’m gonna just put on some warm boots and get out there. Okay, except for on those days when it actually feels like my eyeballs are getting frostbitten. Those days are the ones baking, hot cocoa, a good book, and a warm afghan. And hey–those things are all worthy of celebration, too.

Anyone else with me?

–Cross-posted to the Chicago Moms Blog