Winter Blues, by Tatiana – In The Mix #38

December 24, 2009 Tatiana EL-Khouri 1 Comment

First off, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Holidays. It’s been quite some time since I’ve last posted on the site, although I’ve remained active behind the scenes ensuring the site delivered content regularly. I’d like to apologize for my columns absence. Over the last year that I have been writing this column, I have shared many aspects of my life. Often leaving myself feeling very transparent and vulnerable- something I normally don’t do. There’s something about the winter that turns me in to a reflective, homebody, a bit of the “Winter Blues.” I know that would probably be the best time to write, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I am a California girl through and through. It’s 65 degrees in Los Angeles. Although that may be laughable to New Yorkers who are dealing with 35 degree weather, I’m cold! When I was about 12 years old, my family went on a trip to visit the snow in Big Bear. It was my first experience with snow. I was disappointed to find out that fresh snow hadn’t fallen in weeks. The “snow” I was told to play in resembled the inside of a freezer that had been iced over. It was impossible to make a snowman and the snowball fights felt like torture. I only experienced a true snowy winter, where snow actually fell in front of my eyes, a few years ago.

I’m not sure if it’s my Caribbean or Mediterranean roots, but I’m convinced that I was not built to function in the winter climate or for that matter anything less than 70 degrees. I think it may just be the changes in lighting out. It gets dark earlier and makes everything feel like its way later than the same time in the glorious spring.

Needless to say if you can’t tell, I’m no fan of winter or the cold. Much like the bears in winter, I used the last few weeks as a time of hibernation- a time to revamp, reenergize, and prepare for the year ahead. Author of the Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison said, “Hibernation is a covert preparation for a more overt action.” Well I’ve awoken from my slumber and am shaking off the Winter Blues. I’m ready to take the world head on.

Oh and I didn’t forget about my “Sowing the Seeds” series I was writing a few weeks back about my business expansion. I will post the conclusion to that series tomorrow for Christmas.