The decorations have all been put away ‘til next Christmas, the Christmas CDs are filed away, the left over pastries are getting a good start on their freezer burn and those loose-fitting jeans aren’t so loose-fitting any more. The much-anticipated “Season of Joy” has passed, once again, all too quickly.
Now, we transition right into the next season…the “Winter Blues” season; which, unlike the lead-up to Christmas, takes little or no preparation at all. Regardless of the ever-so-slight increase in daylight minutes per day we’ll still be in “winter” mode for a while yet. Especially if Mother Nature continues her argument against “Global Warming”!
After the December rush, it’s hard not to get dragged down into the melancholic afterglow of another year coming to a close. I’ll now insert my excuse of “Winter Malaise” as my reason for having written nothing in a month!
So what are we to do to offset those winter blues? How do we escape the incessant hum of the natural gas meter? How do we keep our relationships intact while moodily slugging along until the crows come back?
A trip to some tropical locale would be in order if Christmas shopping and SaskEnergy hadn’t eaten up all of the savings! Ditto on the ski trips! So, if travel is out and you’re looking for a low-cost solution I’ll try to help you out.
You have to keep in mind that not everything about winter is bad. Consider the fact that there are numerous hours of serious NFL playoff football games to be watched on the weekends and there’s probably a hockey game on TV every night of the week, too!
Okay, alright, that’s maybe a short-term fix and you would probably have to actually like those sports to really enjoy them. I suppose you could always watch something else, but stay away from the warmer climate shows like movies set in Hawaii or golf games from Florida and such. It’ll just make you more depressed.
Medical science has an actual term for the “Winter Blues”, it’s called “Seasonal Affective Disorder” and it can be very serious in some cases. There are many ways to treat “SAD” including light therapy and medicine’s ever popular anti-depression medication. It goes without saying that you should consult your physician before you decide on any treatment at all, including “Couch Potato Therapy”!
Exercise and diet are the best and easiest fixes. Exercising rids feelings of depression by increasing serotonin levels. The use of fitness centres, skating rinks and toboggan hills are just a few examples of fun ways to remain active. “You are what you eat" holds true when depression creates an urge to indulge in high-sugar foods that gives temporary liveliness, but eventually decreases energy.
Above all, show your true Canadian colours and embrace the winter before it embraces you!
“The simple solution for disappointment depression: Get up and get moving. Physically move. Do. Act. Get going,”- Peter McWilliams, Life 101.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday, November 2, 2008
First Post
Well, this is my very first post and I am going to post a Halloween poem I wrote. Yes, I know, it's a few days late but I'm going to do it anyway. The Bekevar church was built in 1912 and is approximately 8 miles south east of Kipling Saskatchewan. The church is still standing and is used on special occasions. I had first heard about the ghost sightings near the old church thirty years ago when I was in high school. I contribute a bi-weekly column in our local paper and this was my Halloween contribution.
Urban legends are told ‘bout crazy men wearing hooks,
And so many ghost stories are retold in books.
But there was one story that I liked the most,
It’s a very eerie tale of the Bekevar Ghost.
It was a long time ago near the Bekevar church,
For the missing young woman they called out a search.
In a very few days she would have heard the bride’s toast,
But her mysterious death made her the Bekevar Ghost.
They never knew how she died on that cold night,
Now her spirit wanders in search of her knight.
She appears now and then to many that boast,
How they thought they had seen the Bekevar Ghost.
Two men drinking beer down the Bekevar road,
The car crawling along because it had recently snowed.
A glow in the ditch, beside the telephone post,
They were completely unaware of the Bekevar Ghost.
Their attention so focused on the light to the right,
They almost hit the woman, all dressed in white.
Swerving, then stopping, they were totally engrossed,
But they still didn’t know it was the Bekevar Ghost.
She accepted their kind offer and climbed in the back,
Pointing at a farmhouse that looked like a shack.
They turned at the corner and started to coast,
But the snow blocked the access for the Bekevar Ghost.
Her heart is still broken for the one that she loves,
When the men turn to quiz her they find only her gloves.
She’s disappeared again, back to her observation post,
Where she will forever wander as the Bekevar Ghost.
Urban legends are told ‘bout crazy men wearing hooks,
And so many ghost stories are retold in books.
But there was one story that I liked the most,
It’s a very eerie tale of the Bekevar Ghost.
It was a long time ago near the Bekevar church,
For the missing young woman they called out a search.
In a very few days she would have heard the bride’s toast,
But her mysterious death made her the Bekevar Ghost.
They never knew how she died on that cold night,
Now her spirit wanders in search of her knight.
She appears now and then to many that boast,
How they thought they had seen the Bekevar Ghost.
Two men drinking beer down the Bekevar road,
The car crawling along because it had recently snowed.
A glow in the ditch, beside the telephone post,
They were completely unaware of the Bekevar Ghost.
Their attention so focused on the light to the right,
They almost hit the woman, all dressed in white.
Swerving, then stopping, they were totally engrossed,
But they still didn’t know it was the Bekevar Ghost.
She accepted their kind offer and climbed in the back,
Pointing at a farmhouse that looked like a shack.
They turned at the corner and started to coast,
But the snow blocked the access for the Bekevar Ghost.
Her heart is still broken for the one that she loves,
When the men turn to quiz her they find only her gloves.
She’s disappeared again, back to her observation post,
Where she will forever wander as the Bekevar Ghost.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)