The Neverending Month

This is the longest January in the history of Januarys, and none of them is short. How can it still be January? It has lasted 1000 days already. I have aged a year. My husband is 100 now. Our grandson is in college.
My hair is greasy every morning even though it usually doesn't get greasy for 3 days, proving that each day is at least 3 times longer than it should be.

You can start over at any time

Last week I woke up every night around 2 or 3am, worrying about my story. What story, you may wonder?

I'm glad you asked. (Every writer secretly is, no matter how vehemently we deny it.)

I announced in this post that 2020 is the year of the novel for me. As in, I'm writing my very first novel. I was in high spirits, as is befitting for the beginning of January, and I was also smug because I gave myself a head start by starting to write in the middle of December. Clever me!

Turns out, the joke's on me. 

Winter survival guide

Yesterday was Blue Monday with its reputation of being the most depressing day of the year, and boy oh boy, did it ever live up to its name. Not just yesterday, but most of January so far. The "New Year, new decade!"-excitement is long forgotten, drowned out by the winter blues. This year the winter blues are manifesting in the form of dry and flaky skin, a body that's resembling the colour and texture of bread dough, work being blah, my depression telling me that nobody likes me and nothing is worth the effort, and my novel writing not going well at all.
Spring seems impossibly far away and barely real, little more than a mythical creature like unicorns and the Easter bunny.

15 years of marriage

I will never forget how I felt when we made the decision to get married: I was scared. I had no idea if it would work out with us or not. It could go one of two ways: either it would turn out to be the best decision of our lives - or it would be a complete disaster. And I honestly had no idea which way it would go. I gave us a 50/50 chance. 

All I knew at that point in my life was that I had tried to live without him, and that I was utterly miserable. That's the only reason why I, the ultimate worrier, list-maker and weigher of pros and cons, would take a chance on a bet with such an uncertain outcome. 

Goals (and my word) for 2020!

Happy new Year and new decade! I'm not a resolution-kinda girl, but I do love the fresh start a new year signifies. It's a great time to evaluate where you are in life and where you would like to be, and plan accordingly. Of course you can do that any time, not only on January 1st, but there is a tiny bit of magic in the air this time of year, right? Do you feel it, too?