The longest shortest month of the year

Well that first birthday came and went and a cherubic baby tilted precariously on the cliff's edge of the Valley of Girlhood and zwing! Off she soared into becoming a little girl. She landed in a sweet spot where she totally stands by herself now and splashes like Animal the Muppet in the bath tub and because she is so amazed with her new skillz, she is so over napping. Coincidence that she has not napped more than 45 minutes since becoming one? Yes, I think it has gone to her head. And now it is going to mine because I am about to pull a nutty from having a napless child in the house while the weather outside is ch-ch-ch-chillayyy. It occurred to me yesterday that I've been so distracted by the impending birthday, I had barely noticed that this is the most insufferable time of year for me. This stretch of time where January offers no hope of the imposing snowpiles melting, and February with its shiny red boxes of waxy chocolates offers only sugar and carbs to get through this long shortest month of the year. I'm completely demotivated and spend my days wondering which of my friends I can hypnotize into making them surrender the keys to their beach house on Marco Island.

I got a card from my granny yesterday, though, and it sobered me right up. She's basically homebound since she gave up driving a couple of years ago and depends on her kids to drive her to church and grocery shopping, the like, but she's still so content to read her books and eat her eggs and call her sisters on the phone. I know she misses my grandfather so deeply, and I am sure days like these must seem like a cruel and undeserved punishment. So I'm just going to enjoy the blessing of my daughter today, to try to read a bit, maybe eat some eggs and think fondly of my husband.

How 'bout you? How do you get through the wintery malaise?