This week.

                                                               January.
Lots of my friends tell me that January is the month of the year they least like. It always seems to them to be cold and dark with little to look forward to other than going back to work, especially after having had a Christmas and New Year holiday, full of fun and laughter and family time.
Me. I think the opposite. I quite like January and think it is unfairly thought of. To me it is the time when days begin to stay lighter for longer, so not being as dark as November or December. It also seems as though the year is now turning back towards the summer, the winter always seems as though we are going away from Summer, January turns the corner and brings us back. It is also the time of new hope and, in lots of instances, especially with resolutions, a time to start afresh. We have recharged our batteries over the festive period and are ready, once again to face the world.

                             Holiday.
Christmas holidays are great for family time, if you have a family to spend time with. We only have the four of us close by. Parents are no longer with us and my only sibling, a brother lives away. My wife is an only child. There are cousins but we haven't been in contact with them for a very long time.
Now our two sons are teenagers the time they want to spend with us is getting shorter and becoming more precious. Christmas this year was good. We spent time together, with very little of the usual arguments and disagreements. Games were played with a  lot of fun and laughter instead of the screaming and shouting when not winning, or when Dad wins again. That is the boys not me and my wife. Christmas dinner was also a bit more successful. Food was eaten, not a lot of waste and the turkey actually tasted of turkey and wasn't as dry as it normally is.

                                                                   Work
This is an important year for me as I'm intending to leave teaching after 38 years. This will happen after the Primary SATs in May. It may seem strange to finish then and not at the end of the academic year. I decided to do this in order to take advantage of the cheaper holidays in term time, something I haven't been able to do. My two sons will be on their summer breaks, the oldest from his university course and the younger will have finished his BTEC course work and exams. This was the plan until one of them announced he is planning on going on holiday in June with his friends. Never mind there is always September.