Reasons To Be Joyful In January

I made a school girl error yesterday. I invited my long suffering husband to read my latest blog post. In my defence, he’d sat patiently by my side as I finished tapping the last few sentences. He’d even tried to engage me in conversation by asking what I was doing. It felt natural therefore to offer the finished article to him. Big mistake. Whilst he conceded that it was well written (my English teacher would be so proud) he concluded that ultimately it was a bit gloomy.

Therefore, in an attempt to prove that I can do happy posts, I’m pleased to present my top three reasons to be joyful in January (plummeting temperatures and treacherous driving conditions aside.)

1. January sales

I went to my local out of town joyless shopping development yesterday only to find that one of my favourite clothes shops has a sale on with prices slashed by up to 70%. Better than that, it was this season’s stock, unlike a certain other clothes retailer whose 5am start sales drive me insane with their three year old stock. What better way to prepare for a year of frugality and undo the damage of over-spending at Christmas? It’s just a pity The Giving Machine don’t have a special card to use for offline shopping. (Maybe I should drop them a line and suggest it?)

2. Neighbourly goodwill

Having already alluded to the misery the current cold spell here in the UK is causing for so many, I was heartened to read of one big hearted person in my local city of Swansea. I’m sure this isn’t an isolated incident either. There’s probably someone being kind to someone else right now where you live too. That said, I’d like to join the South Wales Evening Post in doffing my hat to Uplands Diner co-owner Lance Pardoe. He’s been giving free hot drinks to folk waiting for the bus near his establishment. A person more cynical and less joyful than me might comment on the wonderful publicity gained from his generosity but I’m sure the chilling bus customers aren’t complaining

Actually, I’m wondering if the cynic in my head is being a tad unfair to Mr Pardoe. Who doesn’t enjoy the feel good factor when they offer kindness to another? Similarly, why else do big companies devote thousands to philanthropic acts? Maybe Mr Pardoe is in fact the embodiment of Give A Brick: one individual doing the little bit that he can to improve life for another

3. Daffodils

Although traditionally a Spring offering, thanks to the wonders of global warming I’m sure it won’t be too many more weeks before our Welsh wonders start appearing. We’re very fortunate in our family to have several birthdays to enjoy during these long, cold post-Christmas months. However, the promise of Spring is still much anticipated and the early daffodil never fails to make me smile.

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photo credit: [ jeremy ]

Over to you. What do you think? What reasons could you give to be joyful in January?

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