The New Year Blues

I sat at work all day yesterday totally blah. It didn’t help that it seems like the world is still on holiday. Nothing much seemed to be going on which made the day feel even longer. I wasn’t even excited to go home. I was just blah.

I spent New Year’s weekend fighting a cold and spending a lot of time by myself. Those kind of days give me some serious cabin fever. I was actually looking forward to coming in to work for a change of scenery and to be around people. I was also feeling a lot better and eager to get back into a routine. Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep well for the third night in a row. I don’t know if it’s the change in the weather or the lack of activity in my life lately but I’ve suddenly been having a hard time sleeping. All of those things contribute so much to my mood. I’m not even sure which thing to blame the super blah mood on.

Christmas is over. New Year’s day has passed. We spend a lot of the fall gearing up for and looking forward to these events. The fall is also when everything starts again. There’s so much action and that was true for me this year too. I started a new job, I enjoyed more time with family that I realized I never really spent time with before, I peeked out of isolation a little bit more, and I let go of something that’s consumed a huge part of my life for the last few years. Everything is good. In fact, everything is great. In 2022, I built a better environment and a better life for myself and I’m doing much better.

I’ve been doing so well, I didn’t even know what resolutions to make. I finally settled on enjoying everything I built in 2022 and doing whatever excites me in the new year. The first thing I did was sign up for skating lessons. Something I remember loving when I was younger and always wanted to get back into. The last time I went skating was years ago and I broke my elbow, so…. Lessons seem like the right thing to do. Everything is on track, just like I planned it. So, why did I feel so blue?

Is it the lack of sleep the last few days? Could it be the seemingly endless winter ahead with no holidays and nothing to really look forward to? Geez, that one really does sound like a downer. Could it be my birthday coming up this weekend? I have no idea what I want to do on my birthday, I never do. I often end up doing nothing. It is kind hard to deal with the end of a year and getting older all at once. People tend to be partied out, the world is kind of in between things, it’s gloomy, and gets dark early. It’s nice to get it out of the way but it’s a lot all at once I find. I’m sorry lol, I did say I have the blues. You were warned! I’m also not good at coming up with birthday ideas. I spent most of my lunch hour scrolling through local activities and events and nothing really jumps out at me. You know what? I’m starting to realize why I might have the blues.

I tend to find after holidays and events, even small ones, there’s a drop in my mood after. I look forward to something, it happens, and then I get the blues. There’s not much I can do about it except let it happen and not worry about it. It’ll pass. Winter ends eventually, there will be pizza on my birthday, they have some pretty fancy wrinkle creams now, the days have already started getting longer, and I start skating lessons next week.

Well, it’s the next morning. I waited just in case. Sometimes I worry that the things I write are too negative. I don’t think that’s the case here. We all have blah days and then they pass. Just as I expected, I feel much better today. I slept better, I feel better, and even my confidence has improved. It’s crazy how much good some sleep can do.

So, if you’re experiencing some of the new year blues like I was, schedule in some new year naps in between those resolutions!

Happy New Year! ☺️