“January is for Resting” & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up On the Edge #739

January 17, 2025 / 34 Comments

I was talking to my sister Lori yesterday and we were both complaining about how mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted we are. It happens to us every January. The long, cold, dark days have tremendous impact on our moods and our energy levels.

Thirty years ago, our father passed away on January 22. For the first fifteen years following his death, January was almost unbearable. It seemed like it would never end as we approached that dreadful anniversary every year. So fifteen years ago, Jeff and I decided to get married on January 23 because I needed something positive and happy to cheer me out of my January grief. It definitely helped and I am very excited for our annual A-Day breakfast date at Gram’s Diner, the best darn diner in the North Country!

But still, the January blues can catch up to me, especially when the winter is particularly cold and gray like this one has been.

Back to my conversation with my sister. She had been having the same conversation with our cousin Tina about the January blues when Tina pointed out to Lori that “January is for resting.” We both took this brilliant advice to heart and so today, on this seventeenth day of January in the year 2025, I am resting.

I hope you will join the fun little link party below and then go get lots of rest for yourselves this weekend. January is indeed the best time for resting!

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Resting on the edge,

Shelbee

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I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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34 Comments

  • Suzy Turner

    January 17, 2025 at 5:54 am Reply

    I’m sorry that January was so tough for you for so many years, Shelbee. But I’m glad you decided to put a positive light on it by getting married then! And I agree that January is the perfect time for resting!
    Huge hugs
    Suzy xx

  • Pamela

    January 17, 2025 at 7:25 am Reply

    Grief is a difficult thing to overcome when you are aware of dates. Some people don’t register them initially and perhaps that’s a happier state to be in. My father was born on Jan 1st and passed away on Dec 31. It’s always a bittersweet occasion when others are celebrating. I hang onto the fact that he lived to a good age and I tell myself that he came full circle!
    Happy Anniversary and hopefully you are always able to lift a glass to your Dad with a smile!
    Pamela
    http://www.style-yourself-confident.com

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 18, 2025 at 8:16 am Reply

      Aww, thanks so much, Pamela. I really appreciate that. New Year’s was always a very special holiday for me and my dad for different reasons than yours. So that holiday has always been bittersweet for me as well. But I always remember those special moments with my father with much fondness!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Melynda Brown

    January 17, 2025 at 9:22 am Reply

    Shelbee, I hope you are keeping warm! We are in our coldest month here in East Texas, and I for one will love it when Feb arrives! Have a great week ahead, Melynda @scratchmadefood!

  • Nancy

    January 17, 2025 at 12:50 pm Reply

    That’s a perfect pov for January. I will start this weekend, lol. We are having our ,,anniversary,, this Monday, 33 years together! Happy weekend!

  • joanne

    January 17, 2025 at 2:00 pm Reply

    I feel like I’ve been taking that to heart this year; January has found me sitting on the couch reading, working on puzzles, sleeping later, taking naps… I’m trying to just enjoy it and not feel gulty about it either!

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 18, 2025 at 8:05 am Reply

      Oh my gosh, the shedding of the guilt is the hardest part! I have been allowing myself to indulge the ambien-like effects of my fireplace, but the guilt can linger for a long time before I can sufficiently settle into rest mode. Enjoy this rest time, my friend!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Valerie Hansen

    January 17, 2025 at 7:50 pm Reply

    Hi Shelbee

    I hear you about Jan! I was never a fan of it, but now I actually HATE January. My dear sweet 93 year old mother passed away Jan 10 2024 on one of my best friends; bdays. Its been a very tough year without her and now I am parentless, dad been gone 25 yrs. Losing a parent never gets easier!

    Wish you lots of light and love and sunshine for the winter. At least we have lots of sun here in Vegas and winter temps that are bareable ….I do miss my PNW- Seattle terribly tho- just not the cold rainy dark winters ugh Lol

    Xo

    Valerie
    http://www.mapeleopard.com

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 18, 2025 at 8:02 am Reply

      Valerie, thank you so much. I really appreciate your kind words. And I am so sorry to hear of your mother’s passing. It is never easy losing a parent no matter how old you are. I lost both of my parents very young and I am grateful to have survived that grief process and also grateful that I never have to go through it again. The years fly by without them but their memories and spirits stay strong and alive within us! Sending you lots of light and love for the new year, my friend.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Michelle

    January 18, 2025 at 9:22 am Reply

    I have come to the conclusion that a lot of our mental and sometimes physical woes come from trying to fight the seasons instead of rolling with them. Recently, I came across a study (actually Dan read it to me) in which a researcher went to the Nordic countries to study seasonal affective disorder. Expecting SAD to be rampant, he was shocked to find that it didn’t exist there. While there were no conclusions drawn from the study, it makes me think their expectations of themselves and life are different than ours.

    Enjoy your rest!

    xoxo
    Michelle

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 19, 2025 at 5:14 am Reply

      Oooh, that is a really interesting perspective! Our bodies and minds are definitely conditioned differently depending on where we live. I have always attributed the winter blues to seasonal affective disorder, but honestly I think it is just that the cold, gray days make me want to hibernate. I am not necessarily in a bad, worse, or different mood compared to the other season. I wouldn’t say that I feel depressed. I just feel tired and unmotivated and want to rest when it’s hibernation season. I’m like a true mama bear! Ha.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Debra | Gma’sPhoto

    January 19, 2025 at 6:58 pm Reply

    Hi, Shelbee!! Thank you for hosting this wonderful party. Yes, January is a good great to take a rest. Nature’s beauty is also resting in January. Getting ready to bloom in the Spring!
    My entriees are 86 and 87. On my way to visit two other links.
    Take care and best wishes.

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 20, 2025 at 5:21 am Reply

      Thanks so much, Debra! Yes, nature rests during January as well! I didn’t even think of that. So it only makes sense that all of nature, including humans, would need a long winter’s rest! Thanks for that perspective. It sure does alleviate my “too much resting” guilt when I look at it that way. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead, my friend!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Patrick Weseman

    January 19, 2025 at 8:21 pm Reply

    January is a tough month for most people. I know it is for me. Sending you healing thoughts. That diner looks amazing. I just checked them out. Thanks for the blog love. Thanks for hosting and I am wishing you a wonderful week. We will get through this month.

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 20, 2025 at 5:19 am Reply

      Thanks so much, Patrick! Oh, Gram’s Diner is so amazing! I always get the eggs Benedict with sausage gravy on my home fries. The servings are huge so I always save half so I can eat it two days in a row. Sending positive energy to help you through the long month of January! We definitely have got this! We get through it every year, so this year need not be any different. Ha.

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Marsha Banks

    January 19, 2025 at 10:31 pm Reply

    I love the idea of January is for resting. It has been so cold here, we have been turning on the electric blanket and taking naps…Mike, Jack, and me! Jack’s inner clock always wakes me up by 2:45pm because that’s his treat time! I can set a clock by that dog’s stomach. I don’t really suffer from the winter blues because I love it and the longer nights because they really induce that feeling of hygge in me. Now, I also don’t get the amount of snow you do, but we do have lots of grey days. I hope you, your sister, and your cousin are enjoying the resting. BTW…my son fixed my laptop so well, I can’t currently access link parties (even my own). I’ll try to explain what they are to him and see if he can take care of that for me!

    Happy Anniversary to you and Jeff!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 20, 2025 at 5:17 am Reply

      Marsha, thanks so much! Naps have been abundant in my house especially since we got the fireplace fixed and working. That fire acts like a triple dose of ambien! I am cracking up about Jack and his very “scheduled” stomach! My cats’s favorite hour for treats is closer to 2:45 a.m. than it is to 2:45 p.m. They also get really mad when the fire is not lit by 5:00 a.m. and start squawking at us to get to it. LOL I am so glad that your laptop is fixed and I sure hope you can figure out the link party glitch. Enjoy your long, cold hygge nights, my friend! I’ll be shivering up here waiting for spring to arrive!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

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