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January, 2005 certainly quickly became
a cold, snowy month including a blizzard and below zero
weather. By now
I am beginning to show signs and symptoms of cabin fever,
winter blues or in modern terminology- seasonal affective
disorder or SAD. For
some people this can be a serious disorder affecting their
daily life. For
me and many others it is just a slow down of activities, a
yearning for Spring, and early bed times.
Despite the snow, the slush, and the cold I still
love to be out in this weather at least once or twice a day
and this seems to lift my spirits. With wind and snow raging
outdoors, I also spend more time on the Internet.
Wondering what others do in this
Sargasso Sea
of the year, I ventured to find out on the Internet.
Here a sample of those researched ideas as well as
some of my own. Some
ideas were downright humorous.
Have a winter blues party.
Ask guests
to wear blue. Turn
on every light in the house and raise the heat. Have
the theme summer related and serve hot dogs, hamburgers,
potato salad and watermelon.
Watch the old l980’s movie “The
Blues Brothers” with Dan Ankroyd and John Belushi.
This old standby is sure to chase the blues away.
Laugh more. Norman Cousins, author of
the book, “Anatomy of an Illness,” wrote about
overcoming serious illness with humor.
He left the hospital soon after
a heart attack, took a hotel room, large doses of vitamin
C and watched
every comedy film available. This restored him to good
health. As
such, he was sure to watch films with Mae West, the buxom
actress who always suggested, yet never delivered flagrant
raw sex, Along
with WC Fields she spoke some of my favorite lines in a
movie: “I
used to be snow white. But I drifted.”
Buy a live flowering plants. I
especially enjoy Paperwhites, and
Daffodils this time of year. Somewhere deep inside
these hairless bodies of ours the genetic remnant of a
tropical ancestor yearns for green in this sea of white
snow.
Get some sunlight every day.
On the days when the sun is visible
a walk out of doors.
Light therapy in the form
lamps with full-spectrum
ray lightbulbs are an alternative.
There are many
scientific studies showing the relationship between light
and mood.
Let it be.
In our striving always to have focus and worthwhile
goals in today’s society, we forget we can just let go,
relax and enjoy these slow days.
Soon enough, Spring will come and we will be busy
cleaning the garage and walking for miles with new vigor.
I am reminded of a friend of mine from
Chile
who used to sport a tee shirt which read:
“Stress- the American Disease.”
February 14th Valentines is
celebrated by many by sending Valentines greetings.
Native villagers of this area probably are already
familiar with this next subject.
It seems we have a
Worcester
native to thank for the Valentine’s card.
Now Valentines greetings go back a long way and are
mentioned in literature as far back as medieval
times. In the nineteenth century, Esther Howland, a
schoolmate of Emily Dickenson’s, and daughter of a
bookseller and stationer began making Valentines cards for
public sale out her home in
Worcester
. These were the first Valentines cards made for sale in the
United States
. The demand for these cards soon made it possible for her
to open a factory with an assembly line of women assembling
Valentines cards. She
ran this successful business until 1881 when she sold the
business to an associate, George Whitney. While
she wrote and designed beautiful Valentines cards with
heartfelt messages of love, she never married.
February indeed is in need of the
warmth of heartfelt messages.
Here are some warm
messages brought to you by Michelle Fontaine in the form of
summer photographs and a reminder that winter is not
forever.
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