Checking in for January 2022: What’s your January mood?

Nothing is normal and no one is okay. You’re doing great.

January in review…. It wasn’t just any January. It was also Pandemic January. And it was Pandemic January Round Two.

Everything feels hard right now

Even those of us who have been doing mostly okay through the pandemic aren’t doing okay now. This is tough. I’ve done lot of worrying about my family. I’ve missed seeing people. And I miss my friends. And this has been going on a very long time.

It’s been two years now since I’ve travelled. My last trip was to Florida in January 2019 for some sunshine and road cycling. I posted about it exactly two years ago today. See Finishing my #31DaysOfWinterBiking (in Florida).

On the bright side, it’s sunny and the days are getting longer. We’ve been getting out and enjoying the outdoors even in the snow and the wind and the cold.

May be an image of text that says 'Ron Amaya @juan_amayah This month I'm doing something called January, where try to make it through every day of January'

I don’t have a lot to say about January this year. I don’t seem to have a lot of words come the end January. I feel quiet.

On the bright side, I don’t hate January the way I hate November. Yesterday I finished work and it was still light outside. Yes, it’s cold but there’s sunshine.

Pandemic January started to wear on all of us. Normally at this point in the year, I’m beginning to make summer cycling and canoeing plans. Normally, I’d have some conference travel to look forward to. But this year I’m reluctant to agree to things that might be moved to Zoom at the last minute. I’ve had enough of Zoom for a lifetime.

Ivan Coyote has my January mood just right.

Ivan Coyote: I have officially run out of enough serenity to accept the things I cannot change. There’s simply just not enough f**king serenity to be had at this point. Maybe this is a supply chain thing too, I don’t know.

January can also seem endless.

That said, I’m on track with some of the things I care about and count.

I’ve ridden my bike about 460 km in January. (You can follow me on Strava here.) That puts me exactly on track to ride 5500 km this year. Maybe I’ll set that as my annual goal again.

I’m also counting books. So far in 2022 I’ve read two novels.

Why even mention that on a fitness blog? We’re talking lots these days about overall health and well-being. Reading, it turns out, helps make you happier.