the blue muse

The simple truth is that life is prettier with fairy lights.

I’m not ready to take the tree down yet, put the decorations away, settle into the darkness of winter.

I’m still in the mood for sparkly. And reading by the fire, and unstructured days, and spending time with family.

So I give myself this week. To readjust, to sit in the dark and look at the tree, to work as little as possible and enjoy a little more down time. To finish off the cookies and the chocolate, to think less about the clock and more about nothing, to just be here, in my house, at the beginning of a new year.

Life is filled with endings and beginnings, every day, every week, every year. Sometimes they are milestones and sometimes we barely notice them at all. But they are always there, hiding in boxes and built into corners, waiting.

And it’s just a week. A few more days of pretty lights and extra ribbons, freezing temperatures outside, snow on the ground and a fire to keep my toes warm. There were new socks for Christmas, and new pajamas that need breaking in. And books that are begging to be read. And there is me, not quite ready to shift back into normal mode, whatever that is.

Perhaps it’s time for a new normal.

It’s at least worth a test run, don’t you think?