Long time readers of this blog will know that I place a very high value on the notion of self-care. (I don’t always practice it – to wit, I’ve been sick with one damn thing after another since Labour Day, but I do place a very high value on the notion of it, despite my own personal shortcomings.)
So perhaps in the spirit of this being a “Note to Self,” let me just say this: you need to take really good care of yourself in January. It’s a hard month, what with all the snow and cold and lack of Christmas, so treat yourself well. (I know, I know, you’ve made resolutions that concern your weight or your cholesterol or your shiny new gym membership and I certainly don’t want to dissuade you from any of those healthy behaviours. But I will say this, you are of no use to any of us if you’re not in good emotional shape, too.)
With that goal in mind, here are some suggestions on how to survive January:
That thing you wanted for Christmas, but nobody gave you: If you are reading this, you are probably a grown ass adult. Do I need to remind you that life is short? If it’s not going to break the bank and force you to eat cat food for the rest of the month, then I say buy the thing that you really, really wanted and that no one thought to get you. Then, when you’ve got it, take the time to truly savour it.
Go to the movies: When it’s too cold to go outside, by all means stay in and fire up your favourite streaming service. But if the car’s warmed up and the snowplow has been by recently, I say go to the cinema and see something on the big screen. Make an event of it and splurge for the bag of popcorn that’s the size of a small child. Bonus: make it a date with your sweetie or your bestie and get some quality time in, or if you’re feeling the need for a little alone time you have my permission to sneak off solo, not talk to anyone and eat all the M&Ms yourself.
Socks: It’s a weird thing but the older I get, the more I appreciate really good socks. A friend of mine gave me a hand-knitted pair as a Christmas present this year – they have reindeer and mountains in the pattern and they make me ridiculously happy when I put them on. I am also currently in possession of socks with pugs wearing Santa hats, and a pair of red and black lumberjack checkered slipper/socks that are lined with fleece. I am becoming quite serious about my winter sock game. I advise you to follow suit.
Write a letter: Are you old enough to remember what it was like when we all wrote letters? Do you remember the delight you felt when you opened your mailbox and saw, not fourteen pizza flyers and a Visa bill, but the handwriting of a loved one who had taken the time to scribble down their thoughts and send them to you? There are about two million blog posts out there that purport to tell you how to spend less than eight seconds on each of your emails, but I say, no, take the long way around. Get an actual greeting card or some nice stationary, make yourself a hot cup of something soothing and spend a half hour letting somebody who is important to you know that you are thinking about them. I sincerely believe that if everybody did this more often, we could transform the whole damn world.
Fireplaces/hot baths/candles/books: Mix and match freely. Bonus points if you can score all four at the same time, plus wine.
Clear it out: Have you been watching Tidying Up on Netflix with the supernaturally delightful Marie Kondo? If you’re not, you should be. I find an episode of watching her guide would-be hoarders to the light of a well organized drawer lowers my blood pressure almost as much as The Great British Bake Off and as a bonus, I’ve discovered that I’ve been folding shirts wrong my entire life. (Seriously, I could watch other people clean and bake all day long…)
A themed dinner party with the people you didn’t spend Christmas with: All right, you probably got lots of time with your immediate and extended family over the holidays. But what about those folks you really get a kick out of but didn’t see because they were busy with their immediate and extended families? January is a great time to have them over for dinner and to make it extra fun, consider throwing a themed night. Some ideas: Make bratwurst and strudel and watch The Sound of Music. Or how about Butter Chicken, Rogan Josh and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel? Noodles and General Tso’s chicken? Sounds like a Kung Fu Panda night to me. How about coq au vin and tarte Tatin accompanied by Julie and Julia? (Because you know you can never have too much Meryl Streep in your life.) Award bonus points to any guest who comes in costume or who brings you really good booze.
All right, don’t just sit there…go do something nice for yourself!
P.
P.S. Hey, did you know that The Kitchen Sink Sutra is being featured on Kobo in their “Kick Start Your Reading Habit Sale” from Jan 10-14? Tell your friends to go stock up on ebooks!