A Sigh Of Relief Called January

 
Pahaska on Christmas Day, 2009.  This is Buffalo Bill's hunting lodge built around 1904, located near the East Gate to Yellowstone Park, some 50 miles or so from Cody.

Did you ever notice how quiet it is when you are outdoors during a snowstorm?  Even smack in the middle of town, all the noise seems muffled somehow, as the world fills up with snow.  That muffled sound is the way that I feel about the month of January.  After all of the hustle and bustle from the concerts, the shopping, the gift wrapping, the church services, the twinkle lights, the cooking, the parties and all the festivities...well, I think that January comes just in time. 

The saying is that all of nature abhors a vacuum, and at no time is that more true than the month of January.  Once the tree is down and the wreaths are pulled off of the windows and packed away for Decembers to come, I start to look around and think, 'what's next'?  Maybe that is where New Year's resolutions and making goals kick in...something new to occupy yourself with, to fill in the vacuum of space and peace and quiet.

But this year I am going to try to just let the month of January unfold on its own, without me organizing it to death.  I am going to try to do less instead of more.  Instead of de-cluttering and reorganizing my house like all the magazines are telling me to do, I am going to take walks, read and yes...take a nap now and then.  The daily things that I need to do I will do of course, cooking and cleaning and feeding the dogs.  But other than that, I am not going to mess with the space that the departing December sucked up.   I intend to think more, and do less. Yep, the month of January came just in time. 

 But you know what?  I am going to miss those twinkle lights! DLB