Cold Invigoration

courtesy of the BBC

I can be fickle when asked what season or time of the year is my favorite.

I love the spices and nostalgia of fall. December is flush with celebration and colors.
Spring brings rebirth and the first warm day sans jacket. (I don't particularly care for the heat of summer unless I can be comfortable in a bathing suit sipping a cold drink by some water)

But I absolutely love the first few days of January.

The richness of the fall that I love so much, the holidays and the indulging are all over. January means back to work. The new year brings resolutions or non-resolutions; either way, there is a reexamination of life, work, and one's self. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we are lucky enough to have the cold weather cheering us on.

For me, the harsh, unfeeling cold is the kick in the butt I need to take down the tree, close the cookie recipe book, tie on my running shoes, and get back to work. Sure, each first day of snow brings hot chocolate, old movies, and finding ways to staying warm on the couch, but as every New Yorker knows, its only the initial snowfall that holds the magic. A few hours after the last flake falls, the snow becomes dirty from snow plows and an overall hindrance to trudge through. May as well stay home and write music!

And thank goodness for these first days of inspiration- I have big plans for '09 that can use all the inspiration they can get! The BCJO has it's second show this April and there are new tunes to be written. There are plans for Bottomless Cup Music to go incorporated as well as a face-lift for this blog. Not to mention my return to (reading) comics!

With so much to do, I am grateful not to have any holidays or warm, sunny days to distract me!

Good luck to all of you who with the first full week of January are back to work and put to the task of actually full-filling your new year's resolutions.

Keep the bottomless cups of coffee flowing- we will need it!