The holidays are in our rearview mirrors: decorations are down and all the trash has been picked up. Kids are all back into their routines where ever they may be and this was the first weekend of the new year. I was looking so forward to having the weekend all to myself and getting my place back into working order, and I did. That’s done! While I needed the break and the time and the order to my life, tonight I am keenly aware that it is time to get back to my social self or I will easily slip into way too many binge-watching nights and iced cappuccinos and isolation. I want you to make sure to stay social in the winter.

I know, I know, I know that it’s really hard to push through during the cold and the dark of winter and the allure of hot chocolate on the warm, cozy couch with a blanket is so inviting. But it can be dangerous for us single women. Loneliness, isolation and depression can creep into the room and sit down right next to you without you even noticing. And, that is a hard place to crawl out of if you get in too deep.

So, get to work! This week if you don’t have plans, make them. If you do have plans, good for you. Want to see a movie? Go. Even if you go alone you will be around other people rather than entering into a discussion about the Golden Globes at home with your cat. Go anywhere you can to be among the living.

Let me tell you about a change that I am making to improve my life and you may recognize yourself in how I was feeling. If so, I hope this will give you a seed of an idea. I have many, many interests: I write, read, knit, workout, cycle. I work outside the home. I am taking piano lessons. I take Spanish. I love to try and learn new things. But, the truth is that everything I do, I do alone. I am in sales (you’re on your own in sales!). I read alone, knit alone, I write alone, piano and guitar are one-woman sports. I work out alone and cycle alone. Get the picture?

What I see in myself is a very busy woman who does so much on her own. So, to add more people to my life I am taking up Pickleball. Surely I can do that, right? My plan is to enjoy a new sport and experience camaraderie as well. I’ll keep you posted.

The moral of this story is this: it’s up to you to make the winter better. Don’t let yourself go down the rabbit hole of hibernation because as a single woman you can become lonely very quickly and that is not a good place to be.

Ladies, kick-off the new year strong!