Hello my friends. Well the holidays are over. No more stuffing ourselves with Thanksgiving. The change purse is dry from Christmas and now we here in the northern part of Indiana wait.
What are we waiting for? Well, some are waiting for the usual snow we have plenty of by now; but it hasn’t arrived. I’m sorry, but for me, less is more. Now that I am older, snow is my enemy unless I’m sitting inside and watching the flakes fall.
There are lots of comments being made. No snow in December or January is a promise of over-load in February and March. I don’t know the future. I will have to deal with what is given me; but for now; I am fine.
January is the longest month of the year for me. It always has been. Maybe it is because it is long and boring. No real holidays in it. The back to the normal groove thing returns and the days tick down until a lot of people get their tax refunds. At this point of the government shutdown, who knows when those tax returns will happen.
I saw a post on my Facebook a bit ago which stated,”Count the Mondays.” I got it immediately. I suppose if you live in the southern part of the country, you may not understand but up here, if you can count the Mondays in the long month of January, it will promise to get you closer to Spring.
February is a time when I will be thinking more of Spring. The farmer commercials will be posting on the television. This is a good sign that Spring is coming. I will be starting to watch for the Robins to reappear. When they arrive, it means that there will not be so much snow that they won’t be able to find food and shelter and Spring is near.
Animals say a lot about your weather. Have you ever watched the squirrels gather nuts for winter? On bad winters, you will still see the squirrels in early December, storing nuts. The Catapillars, the ones who crawl so slow and have beautiful colors, these creatures turn a dark black if our winter here in Indiana is going to be a vicious one.
As for me, I have been fighting something for four days now. I don’t have a temperature or aches and pains, but instead, I am nauseated anytime I eat. This circle includes a trip to the Ladies room no matter how little or much food I put into my mouth. I have lost four pounds in four days. I am glad I am experiencing this during our winter months.
I don’t get out much in the winter time. It’s too cold. Aged skin cracks and burns. Eyes sting, and the thoughts of playing in the snow are exchanged for will my walker get through the snow and ice. Here where I live, that is doubtful. There is not sufficient cleaning in the parking lot so there are many grooves of ice. I just don’t want to fall down at this point in my life. I do go out if it isn’t too cold or snowing and go to my volunteer job. I try to go twice a week during the winter and I will go at least three times per week or more in the warmer weather.
I didn’t go to church today. This matter of my stomach is just a little too much to deal with during a church service. I do have one thing to look forward to in the month of January, 2019. My daughter is coming for a visit. It’s been quite a while since I have seen her and am looking forward to a visit.
Another thing I am looking forward to is; my insurance is covering the expenses for me to have Life Alert for my falls. It will bring me comfort knowing I am now not alone here in the apartment, or too far away from a pull light, or definitely when I am taking a shower. It will be worn on my wrist and if I fall it triggers the alarm company. If I don’t answer the second chime, this tells the company that I am not alert. I believe from what the company said, is that I will receive my wrist band and plug in box in five to ten days.
I know this is not a big deal to most but for someone as unsteady as me and who lives alone; this can be a real life savor.
What about you? How do you get through the long month of January?
Who I am 
My Januarys usually aren’t so long Terri. They will go quickly getting church end of year accounts done and ready forAuditing take up lots of time, but like you I am happy for the snow to stay away…. best wishes.
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Any accounting that has to be done E.O.Y. is a task that makes the month go by quick. I don’t envy you on that one. I heard the word snow in the following week’s forecast. We shall see……
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There is no snow here and I am thrilled about that. We have had a couple of days with snow a while ago, but it hasn’t lasted. I don’t like the cold or the snow unless, as you said Terry, I am sitting inside looking out the window. We have had a lot of rain, so I’m hoping that will be the kind of winter right through, as long as it isn’t freezing rain. Actually I can’t believe nearly a week of January is already gone. We started our 21-day fast today at church, so a lot of people will probably be counting the days.
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We have had an enormous amount of rain here also. Not cold, cold though and little snow. I will be glad when the days are longer. Indiana is considering going Central time all through Indiana because of too many school bus accidents and children killed. I don’t care, one way or another but having to change my clocks twice yearly, is stupid!!!
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I actually woke up to snow this morning though it didn’t amount to much. I think it was sleeting then, too, but that cleared up too.
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My sister suffers from SADS, Seasonal Affected Disorder Syndrome, and she also drags through January and February because of the long nights. She’s even dragging through November and December for the same reason.
I’m fine with the lack of snow, but I know that the farmers need it badly since as it melts it does it slow enough to give a healthy drink to the spring crops, rather than washing them out. So I pray for “convenient snow”. The kind that falls on the weekend where we don’t have to worry about going out in it if we can avoid it. I had some mobility problems a few years ago, but surgery on my knee worked that out, and I just have to be really careful to watch for ice.
I’m really glad that you got the device for when you fall. It sounds much better than the one we had for my mother, where she had to press it for help. I’m very glad that you got it covered by your insurance, too. I hope Medicare will help you get it free somehow. I know that when you’re eligible for services through the department of aging (a federal program), they provided this kind of help for my mother, and even incontinence supplies. She even got a woman who would come in for 20 hours a week and clean and do laundry for her, help her take a bath if she needed it (some days she needed help, some days she didn’t). It was a huge blessing to help her live independently.
I’m also going to be on Medicare this year, and trying to figure out how that will work for me with my job and all. Life is interesting when we become seniors, eh?
Have a great day, and try to find something fun to do each day so the month goes by faster.
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I hope your sister finds things to occupy her mind during these long dark days. Medicare is confusing to say the least. Even after you make your choices, you find there are other choices and wonder if you made the right one. Getting older is not golden!!!!! Hugs
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January being dark and dreary is hard to get through, but I already think Spring is coming. I found even Tulips , I bought for my mum to cheer her up. We do get through it and we need to control our thoughts, make them bright and sparkly and life seems better.
Wishing you better that you feel ok again, dear Terry!
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i actually feel better beginning today. Tulips? Wow, lucky you!
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