A lot of people have told me they suffer from post-festival blues. My automatic response to this is that I suffer from post-Christmas blues which usually elicits a chuckle or two; my adoration for the holiday season is one of my most obvious traits upon knowing me. I love every second of it. The togetherness, the hot chocolates with whipped cream, watching Love Actually by the fire and the sparkly lights in town. Whilst autumn is far and away my favourite season, Christmas is my favourite time of year. Admittedly, I begin to look forward to it at the end of August. I'm a rarity in the sense that I don't enjoy the 10 days of sunshine we get in Britain. I live for the cosiness of the cold.
But the cold is only ever really cosy in December. Post-Christmas cold is bitter. January is by far the Monday of months, you feel burdened by the finances of the previous month and there isn't a sparkly holiday in the distance to count down towards. It's cold when you wake up and there are no Christmas lights that have been left on overnight to brighten the streets. I always feel very down in January, we go from the roller coaster thrill of autumn and Halloween and Christmas to...nothing.
I wouldn't call this my best poem. Nonetheless, I believe it encapsulates the tribulations the month of January puts me through.
Winter greeted me like an old friend
But the cold
Was my companion
He visits me every January
After we've taken the lights down
Sits beside me in the cafe in town
And whilst in my morning drink
I try to drown
My self-doubt and despair
As tightly as the plaits twisted in my hair
The malaise winds itself around my neck and chest
They loathed you at your worst, they won't care for your best
Perhaps it's time
To make the cold a house guest.
Hi all - I hope you're okay and that you've had a good week! Let me know what you've been up to.
Lots of love, Karisma xx