January is here, and the busyness of the holidays is thankfully over. Don’t misunderstand me; I love Christmas more than the average human. But I’m also happy when it’s time to revert to my normal life and its normal rhythms.

But for those of us who set goals for the new year, normal is relative. There’s a brief respite between Christmas and January. Then the starter’s gun sounds, and resolution season breaks hard—lifting weights before dawn, journaling my gratitude, reading Don Quixote.

I am typically right there at the front of the pack with my new year, new you goals.

But this year is different.

Pat and I decided to come to Paris for January. Here, I had planned some introspection and, sensing a life shift, I would plot my next course.

But I cancelled that plan because, frankly, I’m tired.

Instead, I’ve decided to take this time to lean into the shorter, colder, and grayer days of a Parisian winter. Rather than bending towards the sun, I will hunker down, meditatively read the poetry of Louise Glück, visit a few of the tiniest and lesser known museums, and nap more than I thought was physically possible.

My Apple Watch is tucked away in my desk drawer awaiting the day when I resume caring how many steps I have taken.

Until then, I plan to meander through this month in both body and spirit.

My friend Mary tells me that this is in keeping with the beliefs of Chinese medicine. It is, she explains, a yin time of year. (She said this right after I had said that if I still wrote my blog this would be the topic and then added, but since I don’t, it won’t.)

Setting my intentions for the year can clearly wait.

For now, I will allow my field to lie fallow and embrace the leisure inherent in these steel-grey days.

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Things to do in Paris in January:

Categories: Life in Paris

Tags: Expat life, new years resolutions, nomadic retirement, Unusual retirement options