Candice: When I hear that expression I have to say I think more of the New Order song (which I hate) than the term that is banded around for the third Monday in January.
Monday, and this week, is supposed to be the most depressing point of the year. Christmas is over, the days are still short and dark, and we don’t have anything to look forward to until the next big holiday which could be months away.
This Monday has turned into even more of a confusing one for me, my daughter seems to have decided it’s her blue Monday as she doesn’t want to go to school. At the age of six, they are already testing children at school, and she is in the middle of her first round of maths and reading checks. I think it’s far too early, but that’s the way the world works.
What I don’t want this to do it take away from her enjoyment of school and learning, including reading. One of the things that lifts me in the world of short, dark days is a good book or film, something to drift off in to so I don’t have the think about all the rubbish going on around me.
To me, you have to spin the concept of ‘Blue Monday’ on its head and find positive things to do to make this time of year better. As much as I am sure my other half would prefer not to have a birthday at the end of Jan, its something I use to keep us going as I like to plan a day out activity so we all have something look forward to. Birthday or not it’s good to have things in the diary so that you can go – ‘today was rubbish but I’ve got that trip to the theatre, cinema, day out in London’ – whatever it is that floats your boat, in the calendar.
Having a small person does help too as she always wants to find out new stuff, and I like taking her to new things too. We were watching the ice dancing show last night and she said she’d like to have a go so we are going to plan a trip to the ice rink in a few weeks. She’s never been so it will be an experience and there will definitely be falls, but it’s all new and exciting in her eyes.
My other ‘Blue Monday’ is the eternal battle with writing and time to do it. Phil and I had a chat in a very busy Costa last week about plot lines, and then I didn’t manage to get to the edits off the back of that. However, after beating myself up for most of the weekend about it, I’ve got my planning diary out and worked out when I might be able to look at it. That makes me feel better. It might not be until next weekend but now I feel more comfortable because at least I know when I will do, rather than constantly going when can I write.
If you are feeling blue, go and book in something that you will enjoy – a massage, drink with friends. You might not be feeling motivated but once you do something you’ll find that the need to hibernate lessens and you’ll want to do more. Now to sort out the six-year-old’s logic about school…..
nolanparker 