What should we call February?

I once had a second-grade student wise beyond his years tell me that Tuesday was the “armpit of the week”. I chuckle even as I write this.

Perhaps that’s what February is…the armpit of the year.

Hear me out. Once we come down from the climax of the holidays, January can sometimes bring the excitement of snow and days off school. Not every year, of course, thanks to climate change, but nevertheless, January does have something going for it. This is the month you get to really dive into those Christmas presents. The sculptures that Mom bought and said “NO we are NOT painting them right now!” can finally be opened and enjoyed. That book you put on your new Kindle? You can snuggle up and devour the whole thing while the snow falls and you drink coffee from your new mug you got from your student. It’s a pretty glamorous life. Oh! And that new journal you got? Fill it up! January is when you make all your plans for the “New You in 2024” or whatever year it is. Get out that new calendar your dad gets you every year and budget like your life depended on it. Oh yeah! It’s a trip let me tell ya! I’m getting all excited just thinking about all the fun I had last month. We had SIX snow days. Five of them were “learn from home” days. But that’s for another post.

But then there’s February.

Not really much going on here. For us in Missouri, it got warmer which is odd, but we’ll take it. Oh, you get to file your taxes. And that budget you wrote last month? It doesn’t work anymore. Yeah, the IRS decided they wanted it. It’s cool though, you can just change your careers and make more money doing something else. Oh, you have three degrees in education? (crickets) And twelve years invested into your retirement? (cough) I’m sorry, you won’t ever be able to make any more money. Ever. And you owe 150,000 in student loans?

Sigh…

BUT I discovered a new thing to do in February. GUT YOUR ROOM. I’m talking corner to corner. I am an adult with ADHD, nice to meet you. I do not know how to really organize or file at all. I make piles to “deal with later”. So I guess February can be the month when you deal with those piles? Because that’s what I did yesterday. I opened every piece of mail. Guys, I was finding stacks of unopened pieces of mail everywhere. I really should get better at that. Does anyone else avoid opening mail? I found a stack in the garage, a LARGE stack on my dresser among piles of all kinds of unnecessary crap, a pile on my bedside table, a pile on the kitchen table, and even a huge stack in my writing bag. I don’t really know how they all managed to pile up so quickly but I dealt with them all.

After that, I started taking everything out of my room. Minus the furniture. Then I cleaned and scrubbed all my depression and self-loathing away while jamming to my playlist. I even shampooed the carpets. I hate shampooing the carpets. I took books off shelves and reorganized drawers…sigh… then I put everything back and rearranged as I went.

This is the only way I know how to clean. I let it get completely overwhelming and disorganized and then I gut it and start over. I don’t know if that’s the best way to do it, because it sounds very stressful as I write it down, but it’s just how I do it, I guess.

So what’s the point of all of this? If you’re feeling stuck, down, overwhelmed, and fighting tears every second of the day, then maybe you need to gut a room, clean it, and then start over. It is the Chinese New Year after all. Maybe there’s something to be said about sweeping the dust out the door and starting fresh.

I hope you enjoyed today’s wisdom. Ha! Hang in there!

Love, Jes