Reasons to Feel Better on This First Monday of January

The first Monday back after the winter break can go one of two ways: either you showed up at the office motivated, excited and determined to start the year… or you cursed your life/career/boss when your alarm clock went off this morning (if you can even call it that as it was pitch black outside) and are still bitter about being back at it. Either way, we are going to guess now that the holiday hoopla and vacations South are over, most young professionals (YPs) from across the country are probably not too overly enthused about the dark, dreary months ahead. Here are a few things that will make you feel better about the year’s first Monday

1. The first day of spring is on Thursday, March 20th. That’s only 72 days away. Still seems like a long time? Well, 72 days ago was Saturday, October 26th. You were likely celebrating Halloween that evening, and Halloween doesn’t seem like it happened that long ago, does it?

2. March can be warm. In 2012, in Toronto, for example, on March 22nd the temperature hit 25.5 C. That same winter, Montreal experienced its warmest weather ever for its St. Patrick’s Day march, as temperatures hit 20 degrees during the later stages of the parade, then peaked at 22 later. In Vancouver for 2013, the longest warm spell was from March 25 to April 7, meaning 14 consecutive days with warmer than average temperatures.

3. Those amazing few sunny, warm days in March mean that it is almost patio season (despite the foot of snow outside). Each year, on those warm March/early April days, ambitious restaurant owners inevitably dig out their patio chairs and tables to prepare for a packed patio (even only for a few hours).

4. Speaking of March, although booze may be the last thing on your mind today after what was surely an indulgent holiday season, St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner on Monday, March 17th (70 days away) and YPs love the occasion for the very green beer and photo opps that it invites.

5. There’s no pressure to be anywhere. The best thing about those dark, dead-of-winter evenings is that you can stay home in sweats with takeout and Netflix… and that’s totally fine. With the warmer, brighter months comes the increased pressure to be there for those after-work patio drinks, summer nights out and even that boozy baseball league.

6, The days are getting longer. With the winter solstice now weeks behind us, on Sunday, December 21st (the day after Toronto’s devastating ice storm), the minutes of daylight are only getting longer. So worry not; before you know it, it won’t be dark when you leave the office. In the meantime, enjoy the short days; with the longer days of summer comes the pressure to over-pack your days that is absent in the winter.

7. Unseasonably warm days in the winter are better than unseasonably cold days in the summer. Case in point: those days of skiing in a t-shirt, sitting on a patio in March or that warm winter Sunday stroll across the city that so clearly stick out in your mind. On the contrary, nobody (except for the overworked lifeguard or patio waiter) is happy about those unseasonably cold days in the summer that ruin beach days, outdoor weddings or plans to show visiting relatives your city.

8. Come those hotter-than-hell mid-summer days and nights where even the slightest movement causes you to break a sweat, you’ll be dreaming of the winter ski and snowboarding days on the slopes.

9. Think about the joy that comes when it is finally over. Nothing lifts the spirits of Canadians across the country than that first day of really nice weather and the fresh smell of spring in the air that assures us that the warmer months are coming soon.

10. The lazy, hazy days of summer are indeed coming soon. The first day of summer, Saturday, June 21st, is only 165 days away. If the middle of summer 2013 doesn’t seem too distant of a memory, you’re in luck, as 165 days ago it was only Thursday, July 25th.

 

Cover image from: favim

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