January Juice

There is no other time of year quite like the month of January, when I can unabashedly give myself permission to just shut down. Somehow, miraculously, no matter how insane December has been, January arrives; a creamy blank new page simply asking to be gazed upon — never ever filled.

it’s cold and grey. That alone gives me a pass. There’s not a single holiday in this fresh faced month that requires me to run out shopping for things I can’t afford, for people who probably don’t need what I just charged. School is not starting — or ending; no long break looms. The entire 31 day month spreads out in front of me like white icing on a Walmart sheet cake. After the school bus comes, I sit by the fire in my robe with a steaming cup of Joe. We’d really be talking, if only it would snow.

My favorite thing to do in January is Meditate. Truth be told, there just doesn’t seem to be another month during the year in which the deep recesses of my brain woo me with such ardor. My hiking boots call me in May; the strawberries need picking in June. My paddle board pulls me in August, along with the birthday crew. Old friends round the bend in October, when we gather to watch birds call.