The Quiet Days ~ Can you slow down?

Regardless of what you celebrate, the days between Christmas and the New Year tend to be a bit slower. Most people are off work, or working minimally, stores are closing early, or working with less staff as people take time off. A lot of people take this time to have a ‘last hurrah’ of bad habits before they make their new year changes.

Typically, I’m not one of these people.

New Year’s Eve lost its appeal early in my 20s. Going out was prohibitively expensive and at parties I found that it was an excuse for drunk guys to try and kiss me when I was single. I established a tradition very early on that I would stay in with my cat, a book, some champagne, and cheese. To this day, I have never regretted this decision.

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions, either. If I want to make something a goal, I start it right away. If I do get started with something new in January, it’s usually a coincidence. Sometimes it is easier to start something in January just because the holidays are over and people are getting back to work, but I make little goals all the time.

Slowing down is another thing that I don’t do well.

I don’t normally take a lot of time off at the end of the year. I don’t like having a mountain of work waiting for me when I get back. I’ll take time to see family, but I usually work a bit while I’m there. It’s all nice and relaxed because most other people are slowing down, but I like to keep up normal habits.

Sometimes I wonder if there isn’t something to the big slow down at the end of the year. We have a burst of light and laughter during the darkest days, then time to reflect and consider how to move forward. Maybe we’re meant to slow down a bit.

This year has been different. After coming home from seeing my family, I came down with a cold. Not Covid (knock on wood, I’ve still managed to avoid that) but I’ve been exhausted and unable to focus. Many of the things that I wanted to do to prep for January I’ve had to push aside. I’ve tried working on them and I just don’t have it in me. I’m doing my best to listen to my body, because I want to get over this and be done.

I don’t get sick often. In fact, my last cold was November of 2020 and I was very freaked out thinking it was Covid until I got the test results back. Patience is a muscle I’m constantly trying to develop and I’m even more impatient with being ill. All in all, this has been an interesting lesson in taking things slow. And I’m doing my best. Letting go and resting. A few more days won’t derail my plans.

Perhaps this is the last lesson that 2022 had to teach me.