Good Riddance

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Like every new year, January started off with so much promise. After it did its best to impede my ability to breathe let alone exercise by knocking me down with a never-ending head cold and then spent most days tossing rainwater from the sky, I can't say I'm sorry to see its departure. Of course there were the good bits, like my nephew's wedding and our week away in the Lake District, but generally speaking  I confess I'm just glad it's gone. Restored and revitalised, I want to get out and attack life again.

However, I've read so much of late written by people decrying the month of January that I can't help wondering if I'm simply living in an echo chamber. After all its hardly fair to blame a period of 31 days banded together under no more than the name of a month for either my woes or the weather.

I may have felt that my role as an explorer of retirement was temporarily suspended but I still made headway with some serious decluttering, totally emptying what was the Youngest's bedroom as well as a collection of expired products in our pantry cupboards. In fact I can't honestly hold January to account for hanging my head in shame at discovering so many out of date bottles amongst our oil and vinegar collection. Can it ever be justifiable to blame the first or indeed any month of the year for a jar of pickling vinegar that, left to fester, managed to corrode its own lid? 

Yes, as retirement advances so does acceptance. Old enough now to embrace my own imperfections and failures,  recognising too that illnesses happen and life doesn't always run smoothly, I've surely learnt enough not to attribute responsibility to January nor indeed to any other external body or concept. "Mea culpa," goes the cry.

If in retirement the constraints of a 9-5 clock do not apply and there are no work imposed deadlines looming, the need to count the hours or minutes is rendered obsolete. Why, therefore, feel hamstrung by or beholden to monthly intervals? Night follows day, and because activities are planned around the light and the seasons, I imagine retirement is never going to transcend time. Yet, logically, getting hung up over one particular month makes no sense at all. That said, I'm still glad it's over!

 




Comments

Treaders said…
I think the weather has an awful lot to do with it. When it's wet and cold I think you feel miserable and don't want to do anything - hence January is to blame! But if it's sunny well aren't most of us raring to go? If it makes you feel any better, when I was clearing out my kitchen cupboards I was emptying each can's contents into the bin because we have to recycle our cans. As I opened one can of green beans it exploded, splattering me and most of the kitchen in something rather gruesome!
3 February 2024 at 10:26
Caree Risover said…
Ah yes, the weather is something I love to blame too. Like yesterday when I had to go outside in a squally wind to rescue a rose bush that had become entangled in weed suppressing fabric that guess who clearly hadn’t pinned down! Mind I love the image of the exploding bean can, I’ll have to remember that one if and when I get round to tackling our tin shelf.
3 February 2024 at 10:49
Jean said…
I dread January every year. This year it has left me with a mystery virus that makes me tired and headachey - to add to the customary grumpiness!
I envy the friends of ours who have the wherewithal to head off to warmer climes for a few weeks but we soldier on here (in France this winter) and battle through a list of DIY and housework jobs.
I am always glad when January is over. February is not much better IMHO bit at least it's a few days shorter and spring seems just around the corner.
What a shame that we write off two months - one sixth - of the year! I don't remember it bothering me so much when I was working as indoors was nice and warm but now we're retired I feel it stops me from doing so much!
3 February 2024 at 13:02
Caree Risover said…
I hope you feel better soon, Jean. You are right, apart from sometimes negotiating an icy commute or two, when working I was hardly aware of how miserable this time of the year is. I was always conscious of being penned in on hot, sunny, summer days though!
3 February 2024 at 16:50
Jean said…
Ah yes, I remember that feeling when I was working! I once snapped at someone, a retired person, who commented on what a lovely summer it had been. I said "not at the weekends, it wasn't!" It was one of those years when it seemed to pour with rain every weekend.
A huge bonus of being retired is that when the weather is good you can make the most of it and when it's bad do the housework!
3 February 2024 at 17:23
Caree Risover said…
I remember those years, they were somewhat frequent! In fact I recall reading a theory attributing the cause to a knock on effect from commuting traffic.
3 February 2024 at 22:15
Marksgran said…
I actually quite like January! I love that the days are lengthening and the snowdrops appear so it feels like spring and (hopefully) better weather will be here soon. My dad used to hate January. He said everybody died in January!! Happy February x
5 February 2024 at 15:55
Caree Risover said…
Now there’s a morbid thought!
5 February 2024 at 16:03
Jennyff said…
A combination of more dark than light, being so far from summer, the extra pounds gained at Christmas and my own lethargy, that’s January. As we age we should relish all the time we have left but I’d happily hibernate for a few weeks and come back mid February raring to go.
8 February 2024 at 09:29
Caree Risover said…
Definitely looking forward to mid February and only a week to go!
8 February 2024 at 10:29
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