spring rebirth

I’ve been having a bit of a grump lately. That’s an understatement. A sick-of-winter-want-sun-sick-of-the-flu-sick-of-paying-taxes major depresso-fest is more like it.  Since we moved to Vermont I’ve gotten more colds than I think I picked up in the whole of my living in California, and the trees are still bare and spiky, with snow squalls at random. I had no idea I had seasonal depression until now, but in the “fake summer” week of March I was deliriously happy.

So I’m trying to redirect the grump to some Spring-time resolutions, focus points to get me out of the bad news cycle of regret & stress – my biggest enemies!

1. Be kind to each other.

Our friend Kate, who’s Scottish & charming and polite in a way that’s basically alien to me, often gently remind us (me) that her #1 marriage tip is to “be kind to each other” – I’m really a beast when I’m grumpy. Remembering to be kind to yourself and others goes a long way to stopping the cycle of grump.

2. Grow things.

Sean is the gardener in this relationship, but I’m spending these sick, dreary rainy days with Smart Gardener, which is great for people like me who have no idea what we’re doing. Just thinking about sunny days grubbing in the dirt cheers me up.

3. Spring nesting

The house is crazzzzyyy torn apart from the hallway renovation, and the sewing room is been half painted  – getting things unpacked and put away and getting the little renovations done will help a lot, and once the sewing room is done I can Etsy one million things & make space and feel less scattered. Yes.

What are your tips to get through the final push of winter?

20 Comments

  1. YUCK for being sick. Sorry to hear it! Spring IS coming, though, never fails. For me, I count on 1.) Fresh salads made with new spring veggies that have been gone all winter — tender baby greens, radishes, asparagus. 2.) The woods are waking up, and for me there’s nothing like watching the day-to-day progress of swelling buds and hearing new birds arriving each week to help me keep the faith for summer. Hope spring comes soon for you to chase away the grumps, and hope you feel better!

  2. oh, lady… i hear you! this first winter back in n’england probably isn’t the gentlest for your system. yes to what erin said, eating well & walking around in the woods always helps me. vitamin d, too. cat naps in parked cars in the sunshine. soon everything will be budding up and the hills will have a hazy green glow and the earth will be soft enough to work and everything will be better. xoxo

  3. Ugh. The push through the last chunk of winter. I don’t know that I have any grand tips for handling it. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty bad at it. I’d say that obsessively watching snowmelt predictions is NOT how to do this. I think I’m going to clean my windows so I can look out on the world with clear vision.

  4. This applies to the entire winter, really. Vitamin D and a Happy Light (produced by a VT company, no less). When I moved from Austin, TX to Minnesota, those two things saved me that first winter…and every winter since. I grew up in Vermont (East Barre) and I’m sure this approach would work there as well. Good luck!

    1. Lemon balm has really helped me with winter blues. Tinctures, teas, baths…any form you can get it in your system. It’s like liquid sunlight. Easy to grow, too! Or you can just order online from Mountain Rose et al. Hang in there, sister. XO

    1. I signed up for Smart Gardner too (because of this post)! This is the first house I’ve lived in since I left home at 14 and I am so excited about getting my garden started.

  5. Sorry to hear you’ve had so many colds, they’re horrible! One of those things that don’t seem like a big deal but can really, really get you down. We’re just entering into winter here in NZ, I’ll keep these in mind for in a few months’ time. Another thing I’d add is look out for seasonal fruit and vegetables to look forward to – here in NZ the appearance of asparagus and strawberries makes me so excited for warmer months coming!

  6. Still chowing down on sugar, glute, and dairy? If so, yes, you are going to be a grumpy bitch. Also, if you are a sugar addicted and sensitive person as I expect (and I am) you are going to have little to no impulse control and your finances will always be in tatters until you get ahold of yourself. Your chemical imbalances make it impossible for you to function normally or happily until your hormones are balanced. Start reading. Knowledge is power. Try starting with The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Guide by Kathleen DesMaisons. Then go on to Skinny Bitch. Get on a program, woman. You’re 36. Do you wan to be poor, fat, toxic, and unhappy forever?

      1. WTH was that about? I smell spam. And perhaps a quick note to the authors/publishers of the book so loudly touted to let them know what their “fans” are like.

      2. And who the F*** is calling you poor, fat, toxic and unhappy? Oh boy. I have an inclination to post some bad reviews…

      3. Since your sarcasm detector is probably buried under a metric ton of self-righteousness, TBCYER, let me translate: I’m not sure your diet is improving your mental health as much as you think it is. Happy people don’t troll the interwebs calling strangers “fat” and “toxic.”

        Also, if this is spam, it’s really bad spam. Like, even worse than the incoherent spam I’ve gotten about Russian mail-order brides and Swedish bundt cake. Who wants to buy books that apparently turn people into sanctimonious assholes?

  7. Look, not going to get in a flame-war here, but one: I never said anything about charming. Two: try stepping out of yourself for half an hour and re-read your posts since 2 years. You are always writing about how dissatisfied, fat (your word, not mine) and unhappy you are. If you EAT “food” that is the equivalent of toxic sludge for your particular body, you will BE toxic sludge. End of story. If you don’t want to look at your writing and realize what you write about is how crappy your life is, feel free to rationalize, justify, and ignore. Have fun with that. If all you want is sympathy vs. a logical analysis from your readers, well, my mistake.

    1. Humor me here for a moment.

      Can you please explain to me why, if you believe so fully in what you’re saying and in trying to “help” someone whose blog you’ve been following for two years, why not just use your name?

      (Let’s put aside whatever weird reasons you must have for continuing to read this blog if you truly feel the way that you say you do. Creepy!)

      I’ve been reading Tamera’s blog and her private journal before that for the better part of a decade, and I also know her in “real life.” The person you’re describing is not at all the person I love and care about and who shares beautiful, honest words and photos on this blog. Honestly, your comments read more like misdirected self-reflections, and the arrogant fake name just compounds that feeling.

  8. Yowza….I am sorry this is happening here! Anyway….I just moved from the South to the North and *really* suffered from seasonal depression and it didn’t even snow here. This probably means I am in trouble, BUT I did discover that doing pilates and lifting weights while listening to really good music helped so much! Try it on a rug in your living room — perfection!

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