January cruelties

I know T.S. Eliot famously claimed that "April is the cruelest month," but I think January has its moments.

It's definitely two-faced, like its Roman namesake, Janus. A time of endings and beginnings. A time of let-down after the holiday season--but also a return to routines (something I, personally, welcome after holiday madness).

This last week was also decidedly schizophrenic in its weather. We had some blissfully warm days (in the 50s, I think) where the kids played outside, we went on bike rides, and then . . . we got snow again. I know snow is right for January, but somehow it seems harder to endure the cold after that brief flirtation with warmth. Urgh.

Or maybe it's just that, after the anticipation of the holiday, our holiday is now over and we (Dan and I) start classes again tomorrow (the kids started last week). Or that January stretches out in front of me without much that's anticipation worthy. (And I don't count my birthday. I'm going to be 35. For some reason, that sounds old. Or at least, I can't pretend I'm young any more).

(Can you tell that the cold weather brought a cold with it? Maybe I should have made Dan write this one!)

Anyway, this reads more like a rant than a recap, sorry. We really didn't do much that was noteworthy, unless you want accounts of laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, writing/revising syllabi, etc. Andrew had his last Jr. Jazz basketball session yesterday (he's decided he likes it) and Evelyn went to a Tangled birthday part. Andrew was decidedly jealous, although if he'd really had to go through the princess stuff, he might not be. I'm in the grips of revising a project for my former advisor's book (yesterday I revised 5 different syllabi for this!).

In any case, life marches on. Hopefully next week we'll have something interesting to report! Then again, looking at that last line, interesting can sometimes be overrated (esp. when it's something bad).

Maybe I should stop while I'm ahead!