Good-bye January

Everyone says it:  "Where does the time go?"  Well... where does it go?  It's the last day of January and it seems as though I was just celebrating New Year's Eve.  Our days are consumed by our jobs, taking care of each other, trying to cram in family activities and chores, which seem to be never-ending.  Friday nights roll around and we exclaim we are exhausted, "what a week" we say and then melt into the sofa or easy chair to relax.  Sometimes we don't have time to relax because we've had to fit something into Friday nights.  Then comes Saturday where we try to sleep in "because we can" and if we don't have something already planned, we laze around in our pajamas, surfing the 'net, watching tv or playing video games until we realize the morning is gone and we really ought to have something to show for our day so we get dressed and go do something...anything...as long as it's something we can say we did.  Ditto for Sunday.  So really, where does our time go?  Monday through Friday we work most of the day, make dinner, run errands, watch a movie or favorite tv show or two and then go to bed.  Saturday and Sunday we try our best to do the exact opposite of Monday through Friday... and here we are already at January 31, 2011. 

If you are thinking about now that I have a plan to do something dramatically different and alter our lives so we are making the most of our time... yeah... I don't have such a plan.  I am going to try to eat heathlier, take a walk with my family every night after dinner and do more fun things with my family this year, but I'm not ready to give up sleeping in and lazing around in my pajamas just yet.  I do like knowing when Friday comes around and it's been one heck of a week, for whatever reason, that my weekend can be, if I let it, a time to recharge, become a couch potato and chill.  Of course, I like knowing I have that option and if you know me even a tiny bit you know that happens rarely... I can be quite task oriented and have yet to have a full, solid, complete weekend where I do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  The last time I lazed around in bed I was sick... which I don't plan on doing again, because I detest being sick and whiney and sniffly and icky and... you know what I mean.  Besides, there is too much to do when you own a house (yard work, pool work, clean house, minor repairs, decorating, updating, etc), you have a teenager (tell him to do the yard work, pool work, clean house, etc) and you live in a climate where you can do whatever you want outside 8-9 months out of the year (if you don't want to suffer heat exhaustion and fry your brains). 

So, it's the last day of January and it's supposed to be in the 60's with a chance of showers and cloudy skies and I've spent the last 15 years in Colorado Springs where January 31st was like it is forecasted to be today:  high of 23, chance of snow and wind, which makes it feel even colder.  No thanks.  I'm done with the snow, bring on the sun or even the cloudy skies and rain.  It's not snow, it's not bitter wind and I don't have to worry about the icy commute tonight.  Tonight I may not be able to walk after dinner, but chances are I will walk and I might be slightly bundled up (oooh... a low of 40) but I won't mind one single bit as I say good-bye to January and hello to February and will know that none of my time was spent shoveling snow this winter, driving on ice, bracing against bitter cold windchill and swearing up and down how friggin cold it is.  I know my time won't be wasted this winter on... well... winter!