I’m tempted to say good riddance to January, but this would be giving short shrift to a month with a long shrift. It’s good to think back, as I have been doing for the past half hour, because it was a month full of complexities.

I dealt with December’s snowfall, by moving it around. Then the wind came, and it moved the snow around. Then there was the cold, which could not be moved around. It settled in a like a sinus condition, refused to budge, became much like an unwanted visitor who refused to leave.

I dealt by focusing my attention on what needed to be done—mostly tended to animals. And I dealt by focusing my

Self portrait

attention on what didn’t need to be done—enrolled in a photography course and agreed to teach an animal behavior course.

And I tried to deal with Carol’s discovering she has breast cancer, by keeping in touch and listening carefully, as she took the first steps of what for her is going to be a life-changing journey.

I don’t reside in the immediate past. Rather, I reside in the distance past—not by choice, but because I have no choice. So I will move beyond this month, and forget it. And years from now, it’s all going to come back, in some weird abbreviated form.

So, what’s ahead? February: a short month, with dramatic weather changes, the most visible being the return of light. In this sense, January is a tease. But February—it says, I’m bringing it on. As well, there will be days in which I’ll stand in the sun in mid-day and feel warmth, something I have not felt since September.

Next: 57. February 1, 2012: Pete