February Mood; December Month

Wow, this December has knocked me down!

I have felt a February mood…in December.

Do you have a “February mood”? February is my hardest month of the year- the days seem to drag, it’s cold and dark and I’m so tired of being cooped up inside. I lack serious motivation to do anything and the things that usually bring me great joy don’t hit the mark. I’m usually in a reading funk, a working out funk and a cooking funk. Sounds delightful, doesn’t it? The joys of seasonal depression, all found in one month!

Usually I combat this funk well through December, and even January- but this year, it has settled on me like a cloud a little bit earlier than normal. I don’t like it at all, and I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to fight it and combat it with all my might. We are on our second snow day of the year already (!! we never have snow days in December!!) and I’m feeling a little bit stir crazy. Honestly- 2025 has been a weighty year. Not a BAD year- just a really, really exhausting one- emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Both Theo and I are still trying to process the whiplash of his new job and then adding homeschool, work, kids activities and emotions, illness- it sometimes feels like a lot to handle and I often feel like I’m just not handling it all that well.

I noticed that I haven’t been blogging much, coinciding with some of this “downness”, and I think that blogging has always been a bit of a lifeline for me- it helps me to process “out loud”, and to have a creative outlet. It helps me to be able to accomplish something in my days that otherwise feel rather mundane. So I’m actively trying to come back to the blog and write a bit more to help me process through all the things.

Here are some other things that I’m doing to combat this mental/emotional/spiritual darkness:

• Working out consistently
• Taking my vitamins – espeically Magnesium and Vitamin D
• Spending time in the Bible, even if I don’t feel like it
• Listening to worship music as much as possible
• Getting outside and going for walks
• Sitting in the sunshine, even inside
• Having some things on the calendar to look forward to – and not being too disappointed when they get cancelled because of the snow!
• Finding cozy things to do while sitting by the fire- coloring, read alouds, sewing
• Playing lots of family games – here is a post with some of our favorites
• Reaching out and texting friends

I have this amazing Habit Tracker that has been SO useful to me in keeping me on track. A lot of the time I don’t FEEL like doing any of these things, but if I have a visual of how many days in a row I have done my various habits, it really helps to motivate me and boost my mood. I like tracking all kinds of different things on this tracker- from practicing the piano, to hitting my step goal, to days that we ate outside (when the weather is warm!). I also track weekly hikes or monthly rhythms like having someone over for dinner once a month.

I also highly recommend this book, as it changed my entire outlook on winter last year. I am reading it again this year! I rarely read a book twice, so this must be a GREAT book!

Anyways- here’s to writing. And to sharing even the dark, cloudy days of my mind. Here is to the beauty that can be found even in the harshest seasons, and here is to loving this beautiful life even when some seasons feel hard. I plan to be blogging a bit more consistently in these weeks ahead, so please feel free to stop by and enjoy my thoughts and ramblings!