SAD

I haz a SAD. Well, maybe it’s not exactly Seasonal Affective Disorder but it’s in that neighborhood.

Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you're like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.

How can you tell Donna’s more moody than usual and possibly rockin’ a case of the SAD?

Hmmm, that’s a tough one.

Possibly, if you’re motoring around town with me, you’ll notice that I explode into expletive laden curses at our fellow asphalt voyagers less than usual.

Maybe, if you’re on the bar stool next to me at Froggies (AKA Frog and Peach, AKA Fox and Hound) you’ll experience the very rare event of being able to get a word in edgewise while in convo with me.

Perhaps you’ll note that I’m stylin’ the mega baggy, muted colors, no flash look. Yup, no reds, vibrant purples and, likely, just the one earring.

Some symptoms, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic site:

Depression
Hopelessness
Anxiety
Loss of energy
Heavy, "leaden" feeling in the arms or legs
Social withdrawal
Oversleeping
Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
Weight gain
Difficulty concentrating

Eh, I don’t have a lock on all of those but enough that I need to undertake some remedy action before I gain ten more pounds, stop painting, spend too much money on sparkly geegaws that I do NOT need and start nipping at the Jamisons by ten AM.

Been there, done that, it's nae good.

It’s not just the short days that get me down -- this is the time of the year when The Amazing Bob and I, often as not, fall prey to our treacherous, snake in the grass, double dealing, miserable bodies. This seems to happen, like clock work, every December.

Hate December!

This year we got the word on TAB’s arteries -- we see his heart doc again in a couple of weeks. Hoping that another round of cadiac rehab will obviate the need for more open heart surgery.

So there's that AND absolutely all of us are down with some appallingly vile, life essence sapping bug. I’m in the best shape of all of is which, in and of itself, is kind of strange and, yes, sad.

What to do, what to do?

I hoisted the drapes on all our windows. If there's sun, if there's a shred of light to the day, we're gonna have it.

I indulged my beauty need this morning by buying three of Lori Watts of Fine Mess Pottery’s brilliant blue bowls.

Next, I’m gonna head out for a long ass trike ride. Exercise always helps.

Then maybe I’ll nag TAB into making the rest of the gingerbread he started before this plague descended. After all, we’ve got brandy new cookie cutters! An awesome Christmas present from my spectacular sister Celeste.