January in the rear-view...

Hey, there--long time, no...type! Which represents something of a personal struggle for me, because whenever it's been a while since I've created a post, I start to get...twitchy. As the days go by without me being able to come up with a funny story worth sharing, or an interesting adventure to recount, I start to feel certain things bubbling to the surface: stress ("I should be writing something!"), guilt ("I'm letting people down!"), and eventually, a dollop of panic ("What if I just don't have anything to say anymore--forever?" All delivered with steadily increasing amounts of dramatic sighing and tortured self-pity. Okay...not really--but I'm trying to paint a picture here, so just go with it, yeah?)

Now, of course the logical part of my brain (however small and sheltered it may be) recognizes that this is patently ridiculous. After all, this isn't my livelihood, so no one's starving if I come down with a case of Writer's Block. And I'm not delusional enough to believe that anyone's out there anxiously waiting to hang upon my every word, for sure. Furthermore, I recognize that it's probably a holdover from my decades of schooling, where my...perfectionistic tendencies...were born, nurtured, and solidified into an integral part of my personality (which it's faaarrrr too late to modify at this point in my life). Still...I can't quite shake off the idea that I'm somehow--I don't know...failing, maybe?--in my "duties"...or whatever.

And then, as the final days of the month bore down on me, increasing the...let's go ahead and call it mental anguish, for the sake of argument....as though I had an actual deadline to meet, rather than a self-imposed, arbitrary "quota", it suddenly hit me in a flash of clarity: it's just...JANUARY. That long, frosty, dark period after the fun and festivity of the holidays, when nothing much happens, and the prevailing mood leans toward the...blah. So yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and blame the calendar for stealing my missing spark. ('Cuz that seems like a totally healthy, mature way to address it, right?)

Speaking of which, I looked back on the past 4 weeks' activities, just for research purposes, to see if I was, you know, making stuff up (as I have been known to do on occasion...wink wink...). So, here's what commanded the attention of Team WestEnders in the first merry month of 2019:

--We drove back from our Maryland visit, and took another quiet day at home day to recover from all the celebration mayhem. (And so begins the list of Boring but Necessary Life Activities...you've been warned...)

--I employed a handyman to install the new over-the-stove microwave we had to purchase, after the one that came with the house died abruptly...but not entirely unexpectedly, when we checked the sticker and discovered it was manufactured in 1998! (RIP after a long life, well-lived, ye olde GE...).

(Side note: I felt much less lame about hiring a professional to do this, rather than tackling it ourselves, since it took him several hours, including what appeared to be some pretty technical reconfiguring of wiring and general fiddling about with the cabinet structure--all of which falls well beyond Husband's and/or my basic DIY skills! Besides, this reinforces my policy about when to assign tasks to a contractor: if it could cause a fire or a flood, get an electrician or a plumber in here to address the issue!)

--My job search continued, with one interview and several back-and-forth inquiries with other companies, none of which felt like quite the right fit. Thus, still looking...

--In the Caring for Self and Others category (which I just coined; feel free to use it), I accompanied the boys for their 6-month dentist visits...scheduled my own haircut appointment...and defied the early-morning frigid Great Outdoors by attending my regular Sunday bootcamp group. (Whoo hoo! Look, I TOLD you it was mundane, didn't I? Still with me? Moving on...)

--Classes recommenced for Riley after his 2-week break. Then Husband drove Derek back to South Carolina, first to have a short visit with the grandparents, then to return to UofSC for the Spring semester. Suddenly the house was quiet and empty...which did nothing to dispel the dreaded Winter Doldrums, I'm tellin' ya...

--However, I took time out of a dull weekday to catch a showing of Mary Poppins Returns...which proved to be a peppy, uplifting interlude of whimsy...and a lovely antidote to all the prevailing January...ness. And for a second dose of the artistic genius known as Lin-Manuel Miranda, I also signed up for this month's Pop-Up Chorus event...singing a trio of numbers from HAMILTON. Needless to say, it was a rousing, supremely entertaining, entirely satisfying way to spend an evening belting out exquisite songs...with 350 of your newest friends (and several fellow fitness pals from bootcamp, whom I'd enlisted to come with me!). What. A. Rush.

--Whew! Back to everyday household affairs: I'd arranged for Duke Energy (our electricity provider) to come out and perform a "residential audit", where they'd inspect the house, identify areas in which we might be operating in a less-than-optimal manner, and make suggestions for how to improve our usage (and therefore possibly decrease our bills). I know, right: riveting stuff. (Okay, nerd confession--I actually did find it fascinating to walk around with the examiner and hear her comments about the ways our home runs efficiently--quite a few, fortunately--and not so much...)

--Finally, Riley registered for a practice SAT...so he could have the privilege of getting up early on a weekend, and voluntarily subjecting himself to a 3-hour test. He decided to get a jump on this long before it would technically be required, so he could see his scores, figure out what weaknesses he needed to shore up, and be better prepared when it comes time to take the one that counts toward college admissions. Well, never let it be said that the dude isn't motivated...

And there you have it...January in a nutshell. As you can see, none of these little anecdotes warranted a full retelling on its own. But I see now that when you put them together, it does make me think we accomplished more than I originally gave us credit for, I suppose! Eh, howzabout we just chalk it up to...the vagaries of a month named for a two-faced Roman god...and kiss it buh-bye, 'kay? Alrighty, then...February, here we come! (And frankly, not a moment too soon, amiright?)