Embracing January

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Hello and Happy New Year! Here we are in January, and as I type it's raining heavily on a very dark early evening. 

I’m not a fan of the term “January blues” - but it is easy to feel flat this month, when the skies are leaden, the air is cold, and the warm festivities of Christmas seem like a lifetime away now. Children are going back to school, the decorations are down, and spring feels unreachable. 

Today, 4 January, was my first day back at work after an extended break from 22 December. I had such a lovely restorative break full of good people, good food, good wine… you know the drill. I rested my body and read books, watched films, drank a LOT of tea, and generally tried to do very little before my physically demanding, outdoor job resumed. 

Even though I love my job, and I’m very grateful for doing what I do, I’ll be honest - I didn’t want to go back to work today. I woke up with that back-to-school feeling and had to drag myself out of bed and into my workwear. Yes it even happens to people who are doing their dream jobs!

But in my first job of the day, I had a real moment of appreciation and hopefulness. I was clearing brambles from a garden border. It was very quiet, and a weak sun emerged from the clouds and shone on my face. I was surrounded by birdsong, and every time I got right into the border I brushed against a salvia which smelled so delicious and full of life. I was breathing fresh air (it’s easy to feel cooped up indoors at Christmas, isn’t it?) and out in nature, and it felt really lovely. There were shoots appearing on plants. Little nascent peeps of bulbs coming up. Camellias are laden with buds, their promise of colour coming soon. Sedums that had long finished and turned into scratchy brown seed heads all of a sudden have, nestled at soil level, their little cabbagey, sage-green new growth coming.

So actually, January is full of life. It’s all happening there under the surface, just like it is with us as we embark on the coming year. Just as we make plans, think about holidays, put down roots for our 2024 adventures, nature is doing the same. And before long we’ll be sowing sweet peas! Thinking about which vegetables to start off indoors! I think what I’m trying to say here is - get outside in January. It’s not as brutal and gloomy as you might think. Just rubbing the leaves of some lavender or rosemary can give you a scented lift, or seeing what’s coming up in your garden, not as dormant as it seems, gives you a little reminder that the brighter times are coming. 


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