As the Jollygoodcheer Fades Away

today's weather: B A S E L I N E
anxiety : 0 | agitation : 0

I just had an amazing holiday season. I neither received nor gave as much gifts in the past, but there was a good level of joy and warm-fuzzies and excitement these past few weeks. I kinda wish every day was so cheery. It's the first December that I thoroughly loved and enjoyed in many years. I've got my hot chocolate, my comfy flannel blanket and the happy memories that tell me all is well.

Back-to-back good days. I hadn't even noticed whether I had the usual December dysphoria. I also managed to ignore the throbbing pain in the inflamed tendon on my right wrist.


So all the glitter and jollygoodcheer were filtered out a few days into January, and here I am in my trip back to the humdrum. The thing about a series of happy days is that they often end too abruptly, and when they do, the return to the daily grind feels like the doldrums. I've been told it's normal.

And the tendon I've been ignoring is now screaming for attention, by the way.

The return to normality often feels like depression when all it actually is is a boredom-by-contrast. I thought yesterday that I might have sunk down, but after further examination of my emotional state, I realize I just think I'm depressed because of the comparison with the fast few weeks of excitement. I might be feeling sad, but I'm not at all feeling anxious or agitated. As a matter of fact, I feel very content and peaceful.

The matter of concern now is how to avoid the ennui of routine. As I've got my new camera and have decided to return to my 365 Project, that pretty much guarantees me at least fifteen minutes of creative activity per day. Depending on how quickly my tendonitis should heal, I'll be going back soon to my little projects with stones and pearls.

What I (vainly) wish for though is another trip out of town with fun company. We can't have any more of that this month if we intend to live comfortably, but we are scheduling a few trips, spread out through the year.

So 2010 was kind; 2011 will be exhilarating.