That’s pretty much how I feel about January. It’s just not my month. The holidays are over. The days are short and cold, even in Arizona. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. If I need to change something, I’m not going to wait until January 1st to address it. I’ll change it immediately, or at least as soon as I can talk myself into it. Right now, I think I need to change my attitude about January. To do that, I’ve created a list of anything I can think of that’s good about this month. It was a challenge.
1. It’s the beginning of a new year—a fresh start. And when something is just starting out, you have to give it a chance.
2. I tend to read at night, so since the days are shorter, I’ve read more books. That’s a good thing!
3. January is National Hot Tea Month! Who knew? Some of you might remember my blog last year about tea and my lack of knowledge about the beverage. And the fact that I never drank it. Well, after researching, I was tempted to do some taste testing and it turns out I really like the rich, black teas like Assam. I found a brand that throws dried elderberries into the mix, and I’m in heaven drinking a cup every morning!
4. I ran out of good things and my thoughts started drifting, so this item is slightly off topic. The characters in my mystery series have been living in 1899. In A Bride’s Guide to Marriage and Murder, it will be February, 1900. For those of you who don’t recall the celebrations for, and concern over, going from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000, it was pretty crazy. Some were giddy about the dawning of a new century. Many thought the world would end. Others feared Y2k, which meant our computers might cease to operate, shutting down just about every industry. The rest of us just partied like it was, well, 1999. Though I don’t have a New Year’s Eve 1899 story, I wondered what the thinking was at the time. How did they celebrate the new century? Were there any fears of Y1.9K?
I scoured the old newspapers and found—nothing. At least nothing out of the ordinary—just regular news. Turns out they didn’t celebrate the new century until January 1st 1901, which, mathematically, makes sense. Everything I read about the new century and the new year was optimistic and positive. That takes me back to item #1 above. The best thing about January is the whole idea of a fresh start. Here’s hoping January gives all of us a positive and optimistic outlook on the rest of 2022!
Happy New Year!