Oh November

November, one of the least-loved months of the year. Mostly grey, dull, rainy, foggy, a harbinger of things to come. Although this November, there have been some weirdly warm days.

What’s to love about November? Perhaps more than at first glance.

It’s a month for cocooning, staring out the window, reflecting, from the warmth and comfort of your chair by the fire.

It’s the ‘do-nothing’ month before the frantic festivities begin. Maybe not so frantic and not so festive post-2020. If anything, 2020 encouraged us to slow down, be satisfied with less.

November has that solemn, dignified feel. Like an elder, stately matriarch: I know who I am and what I bring to the table.

It has ‘don’t trivialize me days”, like All Saints and All Souls and Guy Fawkes and Remembrance Day. Solemn days.

Autumn’s glory is behind us and the sparkle of the first snowfall still ahead. November is the bridge between the two.

November knows it is not well-loved. It is a reminder that the end of the year is fast approaching, and all those resolutions and to-do lists remain unchecked. Remember those? And all who came before you, who sacrificed so you could thrive. That’s what November asks us to do. Remember, Remember.

But November is also that space in-between, to pause and breathe. It gives us small gifts, like an extra hour on a Sunday, the hour that was robbed from us in the Spring, with its badgering to skip ahead, do, do, and do more with every daylight hour.

November says: Slow down, snuggle deeper. What’s the rush?  Keep gazing out that window.