The Winter Blahs

Dirty, ugly snow in front of my house. It looks sort of how I feel.
March is the cruelest month. Or maybe it’s April, but frankly, on the Canadian prairies both months can suck. But we’re talking March right now. I’ll rant about April later.

It’s been a bad week and a bad month. Here in Manitoba we just came through a brutal late winter blizzard. Awful. (Check out this website to get an idea how awful. Luckily where I live the storm wasn't near this bad; at least we didn't get the crazy snow. Make sure you listen to the video so you can hear the wind.)

One of the reasons March is so cruel is because it dangles spring in front of your face and then snatches it away. Just when you think it’s about to arrive, you get another dump of snow. The only good thing about more snow is that the new stuff covers the dirty, grungy mess left on city boulevards. Winter in March is like a house guest who overstays his welcome, and you can’t figure out how to get him to leave.

All this weather angst seems to be affecting my ability to get stuff done. I feel tired and uninspired. My mile-long to-do lists remain uncompleted. It didn’t help that February was mean and nasty, descending on my household with a stomach virus that had us down for the count for several days. The virus quickly ran its course, but left a whole lotta blah in its wake. We also had some bad news about some of our relatives that has been distressing.

For me the worst of it is losing inspiration. I don’t even feel like writing right now. Last week I talked about committing to writing for the forty days of Lent, but all I can manage is some blog posts. When I do open my WIP, what I write feels as uninspired as I do.

So, dear readers and fellow Word Wranglers, how do I get myself out of this funk? I have so many things I want to accomplish in the months ahead, but I can’t seem to get going; I feel like I’m swimming in molasses. Is it best to push forward and make myself write something, or is a break required? I’m afraid if I set writing aside for a short break, it will turn into a very large chasm that I won’t be able to come back from.

I need advice. Help!

Comments

  1. As you can probably figure out, we all share your pain. As someone who's working her way through it, I say, yes, push forward and make yourself write. Even if it's only the most literate grocery list ever. Because it's a whole lot hard to get back over that large chasm. Good luck and you're not alone in the pool of molasses!

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    1. Thanks for the pep talk, Liz. I'm off to write the most poetic grocery list ever!

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  2. I'm with Liz--just push through. I'm kinda lucky about these kinds of blah times because even if I can't get inspired to write, my job lets me work with other people's writing and that generally gives me a push. Good luck--hopefully the sun will shine and warm up your part of the world soon!!

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    1. I've always just pushed through before. This time feels a little different but I'll continue to write...something. I think I need to use some of Kristina's self-care tips as well.

      Oh, the sun is shining here, Nan. It's lovely and sunny. It's also -13C which Google tells me is 8.6F. A tad chilly. But this too shall pass.

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  3. Sorry you have the blahs ☹️ But sunshine is around the corner, I'm sure of it!

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  4. I hate the winter blahs -- this year, even though we didn't have much snow or cold, we had a lot of grey...I can't wait for spring!

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