While various websites choose different days (January 23, January 16) as the most depressing day of the year, most agree that the latter half of January is quite a desolate time. The holidays are over, but the bills are coming in. The weather is grey and dreary.  And spring seems a long way away.

I guess researchers have it right if my Facebook friends are any indication. There has been an upswing in grumpy posts that have little patience with anything or anyone. At least two have publicly unfriended people. And others are scolding folks for their posts. Yikes! If we can’t get along on Facebook, how will we manage when we have to see people in the flesh?

Being the captain of a fairly merry group in the library, I asked the staff what  they do to keep cheerful in the winter. Here are their responses:

• Linda: I watch old movies and eat popcorn.
• Emily: I take advantage of cold weather by not feeling guilty about sitting on the couch and reading. I also start planning my summer vacation.
• Susan: I read and knit.
• Pam: I hang out with my cats and read. I organize my office and eat snacks.
• Jolly Librarian: I go to the track at the Y and listen to Snow Patrol for five miles. I read long mystery novels. And I go on Facebook and laugh at my crazy friends.

Sure, winter can be a depressing time of year, but the older I get the more I realize the Camus quotation is true: “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”