January tends to be difficult around the house because:

• We’re cleaning up Christmas, a wonderful season.
• There’s an emotional letdown after Christmas, too.
• I start putting away my holiday music collection.
• We’re cleaning. A lot. And I hate cleaning.
• It’s cold outside, and I just want to stay inside and stay warm.
• Regular everyday activities mean exposure to the cold.
  • Filling up with gas.
  • Stopping at the convenience store for coffee.
  • Driving through the ATM.
  • Driving through the coffee shop.
  • Can coffee count twice?
• I want the Packers to win and Chuck – well, playoffs mean something else to the guy who works for a Green Bay television station.

January is tough at school/work because:

• Going back to school means adjusting to waking up early again.
• My office is in an old, drafty building. Brrr.
• The parking lot fills up fast, and the overflow is a block away. Brrr again.
• January means wrapping up first semester and prepping second semester at the same time.
• Students I’ve pushed and pulled and nagged to get caught up in their work suddenly panic.
• The stretch from Winter Break to Spring Break is the longest and brings forth the worst student behavior.
• Head Count Day #2! In the virtual school world, we have alternate ways of counting and verifying our students.

January feels difficult because:

• In two of the past five years, I’ve had a medical leave of absence in January.
• Every January, I get this irrational fear that I won’t make it through the month without a sick leave.
• When January comes around again, I flash back to the year of my Great Depression and the year of my Hysterectomy.
• As the year turns, I remember all I’ve accomplished – and all that I haven’t.

Okay, January, I’m ready. My grade book is waiting, and I know how to attack it. I’m (relatively) health. I have warm sweaters and fingerless gloves in my desk drawer. La Petite gave me a (gorgeous) neck warmer to go with my warm wool coat.