Beating the blues and my brown thumb.

Around this time of year, I usually have a hard time remembering that the days are getting longer. Instead, I tend to focus on the half-empty side of the sun that I don't see all that much for these few months.

I grumble when I rise before it's light, stumbling to find my alarm and get a light on before inertia wins and I flop back into bed and pass out again. I turn on only a few lights on my way into the kitchen, where on good days I find joy in the stark winter sunrise out my kitchen window. I walk to catch the train - an effort to absorb any glimmers of hope I can - before shutting myself in my florescent office for the rest of the daylight.

Now this is not to say I don't see the sun at all after I arrive at work. I am lucky enough to have large windows in my office. And I see the sun directly for approximately 48 minutes each morning as it crosses between two buildings and shines in my window - rendering my computer screen invisible, usually around the time I have to answer a question for a client or a partner. But then the shadows descend again and I crank up my heater to combat the sudden chill in the air.

By the time I lace up my boots to begin the trek home, the sun is long gone, and with it the last traces of warmth from the air. These are the times when, returning to my house, I am ever more thankful for the signs of life in my house - the plants and flowers that help me beat back the darkness and the winter blues.


Note: Plants are one area in which my Martha skills are sorely lacking. As someone with a so-called "brown thumb," I am always eager to hear tips for plant successes, so please, tip away!