Today is an early spring day when it is chilly but not cold. It is in the 50’s. The wind has disappeared. The sun is bright and glints around the branches to brighten the yard. I need to go out later. It is a lovely day to be outside.

The dogs are my barometers. This morning they were out a long time so I knew the weather had gotten warmer. When it is cold, they are out and back inside quickly huffing from the cold air. Even their fur feels cold but not right now, not today. They are out again, missing their naps. That is the sign of a sweet day.

When I was a kid, the New Year didn’t really mean much. January was January no matter the year. My only acknowledgment was changing the year on my school paper headings.

I don’t make resolutions. I am quite bad at meeting expectations so resolutions just set me up for failure. I could be better in many ways, but I can work on that anytime. I don’t need a resolution.

After Christmas, I aways showed off my new Christmas clothes. Because I wore a uniform to school, my wardrobe wasn’t very large so I always loved preening in my new clothes. I remember one year, the wonderful year of the white sweater, a fluffy white sweater, and a new plaid, woolen skirt. I also got a gold pendant on a heavy chain. The pendant was big and looked like the sun with rays all around. I remember wearing the new ensemble Christmas Day to church and to my grandparents’ house.

I have mentioned this next outfit on other blogs. It is my all time favorite clothes present ever. The pants were black and had the foot loops ski pants had. The sweater was pink and fluffy, Angora fluffy. It was beautiful and the height of fashion. I also got a ski jacket, the sort with no lining you wear with layers. I remember it had two pockets and a half way zipper. It was blue. It too was quite fashionable: being a skier was unnecessary. I wore out that ensemble.

This Christmas I stayed in my flannel pants and sweatshirt. The pants had a Christmas theme. There were fish and lobsters wearing Santa hats or carrying strands of lights. There were decorated sleds. I felt festive.

I got a new t-shirt for Christmas from my sister. It is black and says, “You don’t need therapy. You just need to go to Ghana.” The truest words ever written on a tee-shirt!

The morning is warm at 46°. The sun hangs in a blue sky intermittently covered in clouds. The blue is both dark and light. The clouds are thick in some spots and wispy in others. It is as if the day hasn’t quite decided what it wants to be.

I was out and about earlier as I had PT this morning. It was slow going as my finger is sore and swollen from PT Tuesday and uke Tuesday night. Before I left PT, I was able to switch all my Tuesdays to different days. That should help.

When I was a kid, today would have been a warm enough day for bike riding, but first, before I could put my feet to the pedals, I had to get my bike out of its winter quarters, the cellar. In front of the cellar door was a concrete wall. The steps were to the left. The space between the door and the wall was so narrow I had to lift my bike, back wheel to the ground, front wheel to the air, and turn it left then I could walk it up the stairs. It became quite an easy maneuver, honed through practice.

Even when I was growing up, I noticed that after Christmas things changed. The colored lights were gone. Darkness came back. Only the street lights with small shining circles below them were lit. I still liked my presents but some of the newness had worn off. They felt familiar now. There was no excitement, no countdown of the days. We went day to day. If the weather was good and we had snow, we’d sled, on cold days we’d ice skate, but on warm days, we’d pull out our bikes, but the days were often grey, cloudy and cold so we were stuck inside. We watched TV. I read. We played games, board games, but it didn’t take long for ennui, a winter malady, to take over. Everything was boring. By the end of the week, we were ready for school, for the end of Christmas vacation. Nothing entertained us any more. We were into a bleak January. All the good spirits were gone.

My dance card has not been empty this week. I had PT twice, uke practice on Tuesday, and we have a concert Saturday. I didn’t even have time for naps. I’m not sure if I really like busy weeks. I am, at heart, a sloth.