A Gratitude List to Beat Back the End of Christmas Blues

So today, I feel a bit depressed, as I usually do when the holidays come to a close.  I've liked having a long stretch of down time.  I've enjoyed how unstructured the time has been.  I'm happy that I've also gotten to see some people during the time.  I'm sad about all the projects I never quite got around to accomplishing.

Let me make a gratitude list:

--After a dry spell where I wondered if my poetry muse had abandoned me, I wrote several poems that delighted me.

--I also finished one short story and started another one.  I made some submissions.

--We had times of great cooking, including a cheap brisket that was so delicious when we first pulled it off the grill.  I am now tired of all this food we've had to eat--a first world problem to be sure.

--I am happy that I have ventured onto the streets with the motorcycle that I once worried was too heavy for me to learn basic skills.  It's not--I still don't know when I'll manage to feel good enough to go on more well-travelled streets, but I've made a beginning.

--We have had great times in the pool--amazing to be in the pool this late into the season.  Yesterday my spouse and I spent over an hour lazily drifting on our floats and discussing what we wanted to see in 2016.

--I've gotten a lot of rest.  That has some downsides--I had such a deep nap yesterday that I had trouble dropping back into deep sleep last night.  Still, I will miss the opportunity for naps.

--I read Rosanne Cash's memoir Composed, which has been on my list for a long time.  I found her accounting of the cyclical nature of her creative life to be a comfort.

--I've had the kinds of experiences that make me grateful for my various communities (church, neighborhood, a variety of interactions with friends).  In 2016, I want to keep looking for ways to strengthen these ties.