The Never-Ending January

 

January 2025 felt like the longest January ever. We had extreme cold, snow, the inauguration south of us, threats of tariffs, a mid-air collision followed by the most appalling comments, LA fires. The month went on and on, finally coming to an end with one more blast of winter.

Birch Trees

On the personal front:

Creativity:  I took four watercolour in-person painting classes at my local community centre and how I love watercolours. Painting with watercolours is so different from acrylics. The water does its own thing, running off in a different direction, creating unexpected patterns. Sometimes you just have to sit back and see what emerges. I am including some of my watercolour paintings in today’s post.

Health: When people say things like ‘age is just a number’ – what the heck does that even mean? I’m the kind of person who silently cringes and rolls their eyes when platitudes are offered up as wisdom. Is this saying supposed to make you feel less bad about your age or aching joints or contemplations on mortality?  Of course, age is a number. That’s exactly what it is. 

And yes, your attitude and outlook on life matters, but so does how many years you’ve spent on this planet. Because our bodies are designed to change and breakdown with age. And I’ve been feeling some of that some days. Aging is also a gift with its own advantages and benefits, and I’ve been feeling that on other days. Aging is not just a number, it’s a mixed bag, a kaleidoscope with light, bright shades offset by shadows.

Retirement: I guess January was my first ‘full’ month of retirement (since my last working day in mid-October). November saw me in Portugal for a couple of weeks, followed by Christmas in December with its distractions and get-togethers. I wondered if this was why January felt so long. But no, that was not it, because I had a lot to keep me engaged – reading, writing, tennis and pickleball, painting in class and at home. No, it was the world outside my window that made it feel like a long, cold, grey stretch.

Beyond my window: In my opinion, it is all too easy to say we just need to focus on our little corner of the world, the kindness of some, the goodness of others, the light instead of the darkness. People react to the world in different ways, depending on their own personal situation. But now, I think we must pay attention to the spreading darkness, not bury our heads, avert our gaze or hold hands and sing Kumbaya. 

And we cannot merely wring our hands either or express our outrage. I think we must spread awareness so that those who believed and still believe in the man in charge south of us (I cannot even say his name because it makes me want to spit) begin to understand what his actions and orders truly reveal about him, his entourage, and his agenda. I know that some of my friends south of the border are doing just that – spreading awareness, calling out every abhorrent action and decision.

Writing: I rarely talk about my writing and I’m not sure why. Sometimes friends and family are surprised when, if pressed, I say I have three books written (none of them published) and am working (slowly, oh so slowly) on another. An online friend re-posted one of my recent watercolour paintings saying I was talented. I have a very hard time using the word ‘talented’ and my name in the same sentence. 

I began painting very late in life (during COVID) and I began writing some twenty years ago. But I have never considered myself a creative, artistic person. I think of myself as pragmatic, realistic, down-to-earth, analytical, smart and no-nonsense. But creative and talented and artistic? Hardly. And yet, art is what got me through January and art is what brings delight to my days.  Labels are a tricky thing to attach to people because once we attach them, they tend to stick. But how we see ourselves may not be how others see us and vice versa. That may be a post for another day.

In the meantime – on to February, the shortest month of the year. May it be less punishing to the world than the never-ending January.