A Boy Called Dad: Do children hold the key to beating January blues?

Always one to look on the bright side, Cambridge adventurer Chris Howard says we should learn a few lessons from our children to find the joy in January

Many of us get the post-Christmas and New Year blues; it’s like a weird slump that’s hidden behind the sofa for the whole festive period just waiting for its moments to squelch out and descend upon us like a great big sludgy slug. Only this slug’s got teeth and once caught by it, it’s hard to shake off. So just how do you keep it at bay and wash away the January doldrums?

Far from being all but partied out post-yuletide, the cubs race around in their usual whirlwind of multicoloured wool, knitting themselves together in a big bundle of yarn. Soon all that’s visible is a random hand and the occasional foot as epic tapestries unfold all over the house. It gets me thinking (rarely good and seldom useful!) . . .should we be taking note from our children in January on how we practice keeping our minds positive and our days active? I think maybe we should.

So, what can we do? I run every day, without fail; it clears my head and lungs of all the baddy badness of the day and keeps me feeling loose. If you’ve not found the joy of running, try it and if it’s just not you, try going for a mindful walk, enjoy the cold January air on your skin and look at the long shadows of the low hanging sun, drink it in. Seriously though if you can get a little sun, it will improve your mood no end.

I also take the opportunity to read for pleasure in the quieter moments at home when Thing One isn’t chasing Youngest Thing up the stairs shouting ‘give me back my typewriter ribbon!’. ‘N.E.V.E.RRRrrrr!’ comes the reply. Seriously though, I always set myself the target of finishing a book on Christmas Eve so that I can start any new book I might be lucky enough to receive on Christmas Day. Try never to leave the house without a good book and you’ll find the time to read comes easier. I’d say this is a form of self-care, whether on the bus, sat on a park bench or in the nook of some hipster coffee house where bikes hang from the ceiling and everyone’s wearing some form of hemp corduroy baggy pantaloons, pretending to be Jean-Paul Sartre or Simone de Beauvoir.

I also think it’s a good time to catch up with friends, especially ones you’ve not seen in a while. A phone call, text message or surprise email is often more appreciated than we realise; remember as the great Bob Hoskins once said, ‘it’s good to talk’. It can be a very lonely and hard time for people so do a nice thing and get that dial tone toning!

I am not the guy for resolutions; I believe in moderation in all things including moderation but I equally believe that the more fun you have the better you’ll feel. Theres a list as long as Mill Road of things you can engage in to fight off the January blues; yoga, meditation, life drawing, calligraphy, ghost hunting, geocaching (bit last decade, I know). Maybe take a leaf from my cubs’ book and crochet or knit until your fingers bleed drops of joy, join a singing group or band and whack some drums or fiddle a flute, or thumb through a cook book and make some great food you know you’ll enjoy. Or, and here’s the one I’d plump for, learn knots and rope practices. If you did that, you’d be very welcome to come and detangle my three cubs from the ever-increasing melange of wool that’s now planet sized and engulfing everything it touches like a black hole of post-Christmas apocalyptic kiddie creativity!

Read more about Chris’s adventures at thecoastwalker.com