No more sparkling decorations. No more parties. No more fun.

January is the dreariest of the months.

The glow of the Christmas lights have darkened as the decorations have been stashed away. By the side of the road sits a brown, crispy hull of a Christmas tree, a shell of its former glory. It used to make people gleeful with its white or colored lights and dangling ornaments. Now, its cruelly tossed out, waiting to be ground up into tiny bits so it can decompose. Fake trees are stashed in stifling closets, attics, or basements, forgotten until next year. In the meantime the plastic tree hibernates, collecting dust, and feeling neglected.

People, after a month of over-consuming, over-socializing, and being overwhelmingly busy, scale back and opt to stay home. They embrace their New Year’s Resolutions of denying themselves fun rich foods, cookies, and alcoholic drink. The days of an overflowing supply of cheese accompanied by a forever refilling wine glass are gone. Pizza has been replaced with salads, which are great, but not so appealing when rain seeps from swirling gray skies, and the chill drives the cat inside to eat out of boredom and get chubby.

Yes, January is the dreariest of the months.

Getting a friend to meet you somewhere in January is almost impossible as they only want to huddle at home, hungry and agitated as they buckled down on their diet plan for the first three weeks. They also suffer from sore muscles, having joined a gym and with much enthusiasm, did too much the first two sessions. Moving presents a burden, so much in fact, they probably won’t pick up their cell phones to answer your texts about getting together.

The cold weather lingers and the plants have died, some becoming nothing more than piles of sludge on the ground. Others simply wither and turn brown. Spring hovers around the corner, waiting to do its dance to lure the flowers out of the ground. The warm weather feels distant and impossible to reach.

There is some good news about January. It is only 31 days long and the end is here.

So let’s pop open the champagne and raise out glass for a toast and say good-bye to January, the dreariest of all months.