Oh, I'm So Blue!

Okay, so maybe this blogpost title is a little deceiving.  I'm not actually blue (in colour or emotional context). And yes, I used a 'u' in colour, despite blogger's desperate attempts to correct my mistake.  If websites/software could twitch, I'm sure blogger would have a lovely kink in its neck by now.

But I digress.  Do you know what the significance of this past Monday was?  Perhaps you heard, but January 21, 2013 was deemed the most depressing day of the year.

Was it because we made it another month past 'the end of the world' (and turned over the Mayan calender only to realize that the next 2012 years were printed on the back....awkward!)?

Was it because we realized it is another ten months before we can play Christmas albums again (without guilt or strange stares)?

What makes one day of the year more depressing than any other?

Well, according to one researcher, who has been credited with coining the term 'Blue Monday' (you can read an article about it here), it's a number of factors that work together to make the third Monday in January the day when we feel most blue.

And honestly, I can see his point.  Monday, here in Central Alberta, Canada, was a balmy - 20 degrees C, with blowing snow.  Yay!  And most of the monthly bills arrived around that time.  Yay!  And I realized that exactly a month before, we'd been gearing up for Christmas (where has the time gone already?) with all the excitement that accompanies that blessed event.  So yes, I suppose a day like that could harbour a depressing edge.

And yet, on Blue Monday, I felt fantastic.  Why?  Because I'd spent the whole weekend living.  I'd made memories with my family (a temple date with hubby, a restaurant and movie date night [gift cards - boo yah!], a family date with my favourite kiddos, reading a book, working on my WIP, feeding the missionaries, and board games with good friends).  I went into Monday feeling rejuvenated and revived.

And ready to write.

And you know what?  I realized something....

Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to focus on my writing (because, like so many of you, my writing time is sparse, and usually allocated to the evening hours that my body screams were made for sleeping) that I forget to remember to live.  And then my writing stagnates: probably because my life stagnates.

And while I can't keep up the kind of pace that last weekend allowed, it's nice to have a little boost once in a while.

Here's hoping your Monday wasn't too blue...