Never-ending January

by Angela Sanford

January always feels like it has amassed 100 days—seemingly endless, with its days multiplying rather than dwindling.

This January has been no different. Despite the weekend between New Year’s Day and the return to school on the 5th feeling like an extra-long break, the month quickly settled back into its familiar grind. Add in the Monday Nor’easters—turning last week into a four-day week and this one into only three—and time has felt especially distorted this month.

With just Wednesday through Friday to work this week, it still felt as though the month might never come to an end, even though it officially does this Saturday. By now, there has been a small reprieve as daylight creeps back in a little more each day, yet January continues to linger, gripping us with its cold claws – honestly, I think that’s what makes it drag on… the bitter chill in my bones that prefer the warmth of a beautiful summer day.

Over the winter holiday break, I made an official commitment to my retirement date: November 1st. I returned to school in 2026 with my days now numbered—yes, still a three-digit count, but with a sense of finality, nonetheless. At the suggestion of a very wise soul, I started the new year with a tub of cubes on my counter representing the workdays I have left until retirement. At the end of each workday, I arrive home and move one cube into a second tub labelled “That Workday is Over.”

While I thought the suggestions was a bit silly, it is surprising how quickly the cubes are accumulating—and how rewarding it feels to end each day with this small ritual.

Perhaps this final January of being employed in a role I’ve held for over 30 years feels especially long because of that routine. Even so, it remains deeply rewarding, particularly on days that bring challenges. As a visual person, I highly recommend this exercise.

By the time many of you read this, January will likely have finally loosened its grip, leaving us in the shortest month of the year—one that always seems to fly by. Leaving January behind feels less like escape and more like progress—one cube, one day, and one season closer to what comes next.

And, yes, January may have lingered, but it never stays—and February, thankfully, has a way of reminding us that time does, in fact, move forward.