January Offers Little to Look Forward To

The colored lights are coming down. The extended family has scattered to distant homes. The parties are over, replaced by the drudgery of endless routine. It no longer seems proper to indulge in sugar cookies. No wonder this time of year heralds the arrival of my annual winter depression.

Traditionally, the depression starts on New Year's Day, the day upon which there is officially nothing left with which to look forward.

All we're left with after the holidays is darkness and cold. Oh, there may be a flicker of something to live for, like that exciting Sunday when friends gather round to enjoy the annual television event that enraptures and unifies the nation. I'm talking about, of course, the season premiere of Downton Abbey.

This year we also have the Winter Olympics to look forward to.

Ok, if you know anything about me, you know that my interest in the Olympics pretty much matches my interest in all other sports. That is to say, I'm not interested. Primarily, I'm annoyed that the games preempt my favorite TV shows.

I've tried various ways of averting that dark void which consumes me in January and February. Armed with an official diagnosis of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), I've tried sitting in front of a special light box which helps my brain create the same chemicals as the sun. For me, it also triggers migraines.

I've tried taking walks on my lunch hour - getting sunlight and exercise at the same time. That works pretty well until there's a storm and the sidewalks ice up, putting my actual bones at risk.

Well-intentioned friends always point out that the days are getting longer. Yeah, yeah, I know. But it's still cold. The grass is still brown if not covered with snow, and the deciduous trees are still leafless. I suppose the good thing about leaving the house on dark mornings and returning after the sun goes down is that you never have to see the brown grass.

Spring seems so far away. There are no holidays until Memorial Day, unless you're lucky enough to work someplace that recognizes Martin Luther King Jr. or President's Days. I am not in that lucky crowd.

The one thing that has worked consistently is to plan a winter vacation to a place that, by Colorado standards, doesn't have winter.

I've gone to San Diego, California, for a few days every winter since 2000.

It works best to plan the trip for February because the season's endlessness seems even worse than January. Plus, if I start planning right after Christmas, I'll have all of January and part of February to look forward to the palm trees and beach and 60 degree temperatures. By the time I come back, there are only a few more weeks of winter.

My annual vacations to California don't stop the winter blues, but they sure help. Meanwhile, I've decided it's ok to eat sugar cookies all winter long.