I am in the post- Christmas doldrums. It happens every year. I get all excited in the build up to the holidays. Family fun and endless games, fill the house with laughter. Trees and decorations light up the rooms with colorful sparkle.

And then, everyone goes home and the decorations come down. The January sky is grey. It is cold and hard to reestablish healthy routines. This year, it seems impossible due to endless ice and snow.

I know we have been blessed. Unlike other family members we have not had lengthy power outages , furnace issues, or leaky roofs. But we are house bound nonetheless. I feel trapped in a grey alternate reality.

At first, I enjoyed a few extra days of leisure. Slowly taking down decorations and cleaning the house, I filled the days with hustle and bustle. The next few days were spent reading and puzzles. The next few were spent in aimless wandering from chair to window to chair. I spent a long time chatting with my avian visitors who come to the window for a free meal. Finally, as always happens when I am idle too long, I began to fret about random things that don’t even matter. I am officially “ice”olated.

I just made up the term, but I like it. Humans are made to be social. Psychologically, we have three basic needs. We need to feel belonging. (Right now, I miss my wider community.) We need to have autonomy. (Being stuck inside and unable to get out of the driveway certainly doesn’t foster feelings of choice and independence.) And finally, we need to feel competence and that we are making a contribution . (While I made some awesome soda bread and managed a week of zoom meetings, I feel really unproductive). With all of my basic needs taking a hit, I am definitely “ice”olated.

The funny thing about “ice”olation is that while you know you need it to be over, you also dread its end. I crave the return to normal and yet rejoice when the days meetings were cancelled due to another round of snow. “Ice”olation means a longer morning coffee time. ..A chance to blog…not having to find shoes.. “Ice”olation also means I have to also think of how I am going to fill up the hours of the day, because endless screen time is damaging to my health. I have worked, read, scrolled, and watched my limit.

Praying for a thaw! I am terrible at doing nothing. If I can’t get back to normal soon, I may be forced to organize my sock drawer or alphabetize my spice Hope the rest of you are safe, warm, and coping with your “ice”olation better than I am.