January Blues.

I’m giving myself permission for this post to be a short and sweet one but I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be longer than I expected once I get into the flow of writing – that’s usually what happens.

I’ve always suffered a little bit with the January blues. In a previous post (and I mean waaay back I first started writing) I talked about how I put it down to being sad that Christmas was over, coupled with a sort of homesickness for my sister and extended family up North because spending Christmas with them is always so lovely. As an introvert, it takes a very special kind of someone to be able to recharge my batteries with their presence and while I will admit that too long with my family can be draining, basking in the warmth of their love for a short holiday does wonders for the soul. So coming home again can always be a little sad but this year’s January blues hit me harder than ever and I’m beginning to think that maybe it isn’t just a post-Christmas come down after all.

While the Christmas Day family walk isn't exactly like this, there are always multiple rucksacks containing flasks of tea, sausage rolls, pecan pie and mince pies.

I’ve never identified as someone who suffers with Seasonal Affective Disorder but since taking the business full-time, I have definitely been more affected by the weather. Understandable, given that I work outdoors 8 hours a day. I have always loved winter and tolerated summer, but in recent years I have found myself enjoying the summer months more and whilst I still love winter and everything it represents to me (cosy nights in, comfort food, twinkly lights), there are elements of it that are beginning to wear me down. Like rain. Endless rain. This is in no small part due to what the rain means for me as a dog walker; wet, muddy dogs and more over, wet, muddy towels.

Trying to wash and dry a pile of muddy dog towels once a week is bad enough but when it has been raining all day and all your towels are wet and you need them dry for the next day? Forget it. After a day spent walking in the rain, I, like any reasonable person, want to come home, peel off my wet clothes and get warm and dry with my feet up. I do not want to be doing laundry. I especially don’t want to see another wet towel thank you very much.

Sometimes I cheer myself up by daydreaming about my ideal house that I will live in one day. You see, it has a garage large enough to drive into with a utility suite flanking the back wall. Washing machine, tumble dryer, shower – complete with both human and dog height shower heads. I’ll drive into my garage, fling open the van doors and chuck my pile of dog laundry into the machines and let technology take care of the rest. At that stage of my life I won’t be concerned about the cost of running a tumble dryer and it will be luxury that I shall revel in. Maybe the shower will have doors on opposite sides like an air-lock, so that I can step in from the garage on one side and out into a downstairs bathroom on the other, where there will be a warm, fluffy towel waiting for me. In this dream world, mud and dog hair is largely confined to the garage. The dog towels don’t see the inside of my house and I can shut the door on work when I’m done for the day. Hello boundaries! How this exactly ties in with my plans on being a home-boarder as well I’m not entirely sure yet but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Having this goal in mind helps me get through the really grey days and motivates me to keep growing the business so that it can provide that dream lifestyle for me.

Photo credit: These Fantastic Garage Laundry Room Ideas Maximize Your Home | 21Oak

However, those business-growing plans are firmly on the back burner until Spring because right now, I’m in need of rest. Having felt similar this time last year as well, I’m wondering if some quality downtime needs to be scheduled in for January 2024? A few of my clients are taking a week off during the first week of February and I can fully understand why. After the joys of Christmas (and a somewhat luxury New Year break) January felt like a real slog; having a holiday to look forward to would certainly help it pass by more easily. At the very least, I have learned that this year, that whilst slowing down in December to allow myself to enjoy the run-up to Christmas is still very important to me, having an even slower, gentler January might actually be even more important. This year I won’t be saving any big changes for the New Year; if possible, I will implement any changes before Christmas so that I can come back to a well-oiled machine of a business in January. And then maybe take another week off!

January didn’t look anything like I wanted it to this year, hence this post not getting finished until February – thank you flu! I’ll save the gory details for my next post as I promised myself this one would be short and sweet, but I will share with you why January got me so down and what I did to get over the hump. For now, I am leaving this post here and celebrating the fact that we made it to February. Happy New Year everybody, I’ll be back very soon with the story of how I got over my January blues.