This post first appeared at http://www.riggspartners.com/r-blog
I've long held that January is the only civilized month. With its winter arms and 5 o'clock cloak, January offers an extraordinary opportunity to slow down, curl up, hide away. In fact, I love January because it is the one month in which it is deemed perfectly respectable to do so.
In January, I sit. Our living room is built around a real wood-burning fireplace, and our neighbors know if there is smoke coming from the chimney, Cathy is In Residence. There is just something about that fireplace, and me. I would rather sit and stare at its flames than watch TV or sit on a beach or play on my iBook. The woodsy smell, the pops and cracks, the constant tending, the red hot embers—I stare like a young lover, mesmerized.
In January, I knit. I know. So 70s. But I love the feel of yarn and the rhythm of the pattern and clickclickclick of the needles. I find deep satisfaction in making something useful. And I rejoice in the creation of something so beautiful, just Right There.
In January, I promise. I tell myself it's within my power to make time to do these things any time of the year; that there's no reason I can't take an entire afternoon IN AUGUST to sit quietly, or read, or create.
And I believe. Until inevitably, February comes, and the pause button releases.
Until then . . .
