Musings & Thoughts for Friday, December 1, 2023, or: New Season, New Month, and Music Videos to Chase Away the Blues

Midday/Early Afternoon, Friday, December 1, 2023, Lithia, Florida

Hi, everyone, and welcome to another entry in A Certain Point of View, Too. It’s both the last day of the workweek – although admittedly I’ve suspended most work on my novel because of my upcoming move North – and the first day of a new month. Tempus fugit indeed.

In meteorological terms, December 1 marks the beginning of meteorological winter, the reckoning of the changing seasons used by meteorologists to mark the beginning and end of The Four Seasons. For weathermen and for many other folks, including me, it’s easier to go by the meteorological calendar because the start date is always the first day of a new quarter year, e.g., spring begins on March 1, summer on June 1, autumn on September 1, and winter on December 1. You don’t need to check the calendar or Google “When does the Winter Solstice – the traditional start of the season – fall in 2023?” (Thursday, December 21)

Anyway, it’s a warm first day of winter here in Lithia. The temperature outside is 80°F/27°C under mostly sunny skies. (The heat index is 90°F/33°C.) Today’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of 82°F/28°C. It’s not sweater weather, but it’s also not so hot that I won’t go outside for a walk later, so….

Meanwhile, in Madison, New Hampshire, it feels more like winter cos, you know, it’s in New England. The current temperature there is 49°F/9°C under mostly sunny conditions. The heat index is 59°F/15°C, and today’s forecast calls for light rain and a high of 50°F/10°C. It’s a “stay inside and drink cocoa while sitting by a fireplace” day in my soon-to-be hometown.

Music to Chase Away the I’m Moving Soon Blues

As I wrote in yesterday’s post, the closer that M-day (December 12) approaches, the less cheerful I feel. I’m not as despondent as I was, say, after my mother died in July 2015, but I am not euphoric about leaving Lithia either, even though all of my friends tell me that I’ll be happier once I get used to the cold and start meeting people in Madison. Part of me realizes that, of course, which is why I’m trying to “accentuate the positive” and not be too sad about the move.

Nevertheless, the move and all the “what ifs” that surround it – including those about the reasons for my leaving and the unknown variables (Will I meet a woman who finds me attractive up in New Hampshire? Will I be better off there than here? Will I be remembered fondly in Lithia?) – are distracting me to no end. I can still write daily blog posts, but the only thing I can do on Reunion: Coda is to make minor edits and revisions, and not much else. I need peace of mind to sit here and imagine believable situations and dialogue for the novel’s characters, and the myriad of issues surrounding the move robs me of that.

And since writing about what I do to kill time while I wait for M-Day is getting a bit boring, I don’t have much to say about my daily routine. So…here are some music videos to chase away the I’m Moving Soon Blues: