Blues Time

This time of the year is easily, for most people, the most depressing.  Christmas and the New Year notwithstanding, this is when, it seems, the most serious effects of depression set in and just hang out in the lives of many.  We tend to be more melancholy, gloomy, and down in the dumps during this time than at any other.  We long for the freshness and promise of spring.  We just know that the new year will be better than the old.  We long to go out and dig in the dirt, plant veggies and flowers, and clean up the yard.
For some, the blues are just a seasonal thing and it isn’t a big deal.  For others, it’s a real emotional battle to just get through the winter months.  Medications sometimes help.  Counseling sometimes helps.  Light helps, too.  Brightly-lit rooms and the right kinds of lighting can make a great difference in our mood and temperament.
The good thing about this time of the year is that the very thing which brings on longer days, better temperaments, and warmer temperatures, has already begun.  The shortest day of the season was around December 20.  That day was only 9 hours 25 minutes long in Topeka.  Since then the days have been lengthening.  Come June 21 or so, the day will be 14 hours 55 minutes long.
So, for those of us who are already tired of winter, have been cold for the past three months, and are ready to pack the kids (or the husband, mother-in-law, or whoever lives in your house) off to Siberia, take heart.  The days are getting longer and it’ll just be a matter of time until we see the effects in warmer temperatures, budding trees, and renewed life outdoors.  Hang in there.