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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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January 4, 2017

The Post Christmas ‘Blahs’

Hello sweet friends! How are you? Are you recovering from the craziness of the holiday season?

I don’t know about you, but I find myself feeling all out of sorts in the days following Christmas. On the one hand, my family does infinitely better when we are operating within a routine.

So getting back to our regularly scheduled programming is more than welcomed around here. But on the other hand, my emotions tend to be all over the place and I feel discombobulated (that’s one of my all-time favorite words by the way!).

Winter vintage tabletop decor

And, in years past, I would give those emotions too much merit. I used to analyze them and wonder if I was supposed to make big changes in my life or big changes to my home or big changes to my hair.

I would simmer and stew over those post-holiday emotions and allow them to form a cloud over the brand new year.

But somewhere along the line, I began to recognize them for what they are.

Just the normal response to coming back down to reality after a month of crazy schedules, hyped up kids, too much sugar and a ridiculous number of activities.

Are you struggling with the post-Christmas ‘blahs’?

May I recommend that you don’t put too much stock in those feelings?

 

How about instead of giving into them, we just do simple things to boost our spirits?

Keep a few twinkling lights glowing here and there.

Winter cabin themed Christmas mantel decor

Light a candle in your favorite scent.

Put on some music that always makes you smile.

Read a good book.

Take a bath.

Go on a walk. 

Have lunch with a friend. 

Spend time in prayer and in God’s word.

And just celebrate moving out of a season of excess and into a season of simplicity.

Sofa table Christmas decor atthepicketfence.com

 

Happy New Year!

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Find more encouragement and inspiration in our book ‘Life in Season’ in stores now!

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15 Comments Filed Under: Community, Good Ideas, Good Thoughts

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Comments

  1. Michelle says

    January 4, 2017 at 4:18 AM

    Thoughtful post. Thanks for sharing! In this bitterly cold first week of January, I give thanks for my warm, cozy home and my snuggly dog and will settle in with my new books I received for Christmas. You are right, don’t overthink the post holiday blues…..as we know, this too, shall pass. And I too, have one small tree twinkling day and night!

    Reply
  2. Sandi says

    January 4, 2017 at 4:46 AM

    I like what you have written. I still have my tree up and I turn it on every morning because I love the little lights. Hugs,

    Reply
  3. Lynn Jackson says

    January 4, 2017 at 5:11 AM

    What a lovely post. I really enjoy a cup of white tea in the afternoon, but my stress level is higher this year. My husband broke a small bone in his leg a week before Christmas all our Christmas travelling cancelled , I guess we will be having Xmas in July delivering late presents. Then I was sick had to stay in bed New Years weekend ( 4days) I planned to take Xmas decoration down and put away. But will do what only what I can till done and still enjoy my cup of tea but my homemade baking container are empty. ☕️

    Reply
  4. laura says

    January 4, 2017 at 5:31 AM

    Vanessa- Timely post! Great suggestions! What I remind myself is resolutions, DIY lists and enjoying the snow this time of year in Denver. And life moves so quickly. PS I love love love your small Christmas trees!

    laura

    Reply
  5. Dianne Stavropoulos says

    January 4, 2017 at 6:06 AM

    Yes! Discombobulated says it all, doesn’t it? God goes before us into every New Year and He is never surprised by the things that take our breath away. I pray for a year of soulful rest for all of us – no matter how bone weary our bodies may be! Happy New Year to you and your!

    Reply
  6. valarie sanford says

    January 4, 2017 at 6:48 AM

    Amen sister, thanks for the wonderful perspective! Blessings

    Reply
  7. Sami says

    January 4, 2017 at 8:19 AM

    While I appreciate your post, I must say there are no blahs here. I am excited about the new year, more than willing to take down and store the Christmas décor and get on with normal. As I age I am finding that the hysteria over the holidays is wearing and I am pleased when it is over. I hope I don’t sound unfeeling but I wanted to share an alternate mind set.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      January 4, 2017 at 8:34 AM

      You don’t sound unfeeling at all Sami and I appreciate your perspective! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Bonnie says

    January 4, 2017 at 9:44 AM

    Thanks Vanessa for the good insight. I sometimes feel that way right after the holidays and I forget that there are good things waiting for me in the new year to come.

    Reply
  9. margaret says

    January 4, 2017 at 10:17 AM

    Thank you for those good tips to start the new year.
    Happy New Year to you and your family!!

    Reply
  10. MARY-ANN (FROM CANADA!) says

    January 4, 2017 at 8:52 PM

    Happy New Year to you, too, Vanessa! I always enjoy your posts!

    Glad to know that I am not the only person who gets a little down after Christmas — and especially when you pack away your Christmas decorations and everything seems to look so drab after having so much color! I love Christmas and everything that is connected to it! It is absolutely my favorite time of the year!

    However, it isn’t long before I count my blessings and realize that I am truly blessed! God is so good!

    Bless you!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      January 5, 2017 at 6:57 AM

      Thank you so much Mary-Ann and Happy New Year to you as well!

      Reply
  11. Jenny says

    January 6, 2017 at 6:16 PM

    I know this feeling as well. Luckily, my kids have January and February birthdays, so quickly after the Christmas festivities are over, we begin planning birthdays. It’s nice to pair-down after Christmas and plan low-key birthday celebrations. And, due to their birthdays being right after Christmas, we ask that their birthday party guests bring donations for the local animal shelter, in lieu of gifts.
    ~Jenny
    https://www.introvertsguidetosobriety.com/

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      January 7, 2017 at 8:22 AM

      That is such a great idea Jenny!

      Reply
  12. Terri says

    January 11, 2017 at 7:55 AM

    I just read this post… thank you so much !! Great Words of Wisdom… and some wonderful ideas…. Our family had an amazing Christmas … and just this past week we had a cabin vacation getaway in the Smokies… so beautiful… It snowed!! … and snowed !!! lolol… kind of a big deal for us “Floridians”!!! lol….. but then when everyone heads back home and to “Normal” … well… I feel those same blahs just a bit !!!! Thank you again for this uplifting post !!!!

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
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It's honestly fairly representative of my state of mind these days as I can't seem to make the date on the calendar match the date in my spirit because it feels like it should be January 45th. Every year this month drags on and every year it seems to surprise me for some reason. In addition, my heart just feels heavy as I witness a lot of darkness and sadness around me. So, I'm choosing to control what I can control by making my house feel as cozy as possible, relishing the sunshine whenever it dares to peek through the clouds, gathering inspiration for warmer weather projects and, most importantly, resting in the comfort of the sovereignty of my Father.

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And I’m choosing gratefulness. 

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Here’s to beginnings. Happy new year friends! May you experience the majesty and sovereignty of the Lord in 2023 like never before! ✨
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