Back to the old grind

I've tended to feel somewhat depressed, traditionally, on the day after new year's. Part of it is sadness over the "official" end of the holidays, part of it is longing for the old year and some apprehension about what the new year may hold, and part of it is unwillingness to get back into a schedule. This year I don't really feel that depression; I feel more of an acceptance.

I think it has something to do with how I've approached the holidays. Usually, I get very excited about the holidays, and really get into the spirit of the season. I bake cookies, really get into Christmas shopping, decorate much of the house, and play Christmas carols until Mr. Jane threatens divorce. I build up to the holidays, so of course there's a letdown afterwards. This year, I wasn't exactly Scrooge, but I was so not into Christmas at all. I baked no cookies. Mr. Jane actually dug out the Christmas decorations this year and coordinated the decorating. There was no Christmas music in the house. And, for the first time ever, my shopping mantra was "just get a gift, don't look for the perfect gift." In fact, while I did enjoy the Christmas celebration we had, I would have been just as happy if I had ignored Christmas altogether this year. So, no letdown. Although I do wish now that I had baked at least one batch of cookies....

The thing is, I was just too busy/preoccupied with work stuff to care about the Christmas season this year. And....the world didn't end. I'm not sure if this is healthy or unhealthy, emotionally, but I do know that I feel much more at peace this year than I typically do at this time, so maybe there's something to this.

An update on the New Year's Eve situation: Luckily, Mr. Jane did not want to go to the last-minute shindig either. But he did want to go out. We compromised and had a nice, quiet dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants, then came home and toasted in the new year w/ champagne. So, we were both happy.

I have a couple of work-related posts in my head right now, but in the spirit of preserving the holidays for a few more hours, these can wait until tomorrow.