Ever heard the term, “stuck in the doldrums”?
The doldrums is a nautical term for the equatorial region of the Earth where the prevailing trade winds converge, often resulting in calms, sudden squalls, and little to no forward progress for sailing vessels.
Metaphorically, it’s used to describe the same sort of thing: little to no forward progress, calms, sudden squalls… While I came into 2026 feeling very energetically upbeat, the last few months especially, have felt like the doldrums. I can’t quite put my finger on why. January and February were very busy, especially on the work-front. Then came the calms of March and April. May my boat got rocked with my cat’s sudden and dramatic illness (if you’ve been following along, she’s recovering nicely!). So I’m really hoping to pick up speed and “sail” into the summer into more up-beat waters.
The best word I can come up with for this year so far though, is unexpected. I also can’t believe it’s almost half over. No idea how the passage of time now seems to just go at rocket speed (even when you’re feeling emotionally or physically “stuck” somehow).
Whenever I have felt like I was just wading through mud to get through the day in the past, I tried to incorporate more fun into my life. I did reschedule my trip to the coast to the 3rd week in June after knowing Freya was trending towards recovery. I have nothing scheduled in July yet, so I’m going to have to think about that.
The weather has also been very “June gloom” here. We’ve had windy days, rain here and there with scattered clouds and cooler temperatures. Our area desperately needs the rain, so I’m not complaining, but the gloomy weather as we’re heading into summer has affected my mood as well. I was going to take my kayak over to a local reservoir over Memorial Day weekend, but didn’t want to risk getting caught in the rain.
I live in an area where nature is never to far away, so activities that don’t have to take an entire day (or multiple days) like hiking, kayaking, going on a picnic, etc. are easy to do, it’s just actually doing them. That’s another thing “the doldrums” affect – motivation to do even the fun things. Some may say what I’m really talking about is depression, but it’s definitely not that. Only way I can describe it is a kind of energetic shift. Basically, I just need to get my mojo back.
The fact the year is half over and I feel like I haven’t accomplished much is also getting to me. I need activity and forward progress in my life. For the last few months, it’s felt like one step forward, two back as I struggle with basic things like getting enough sleep (and on a regular schedule) and getting to the gym a few times a week… both things I KNOW would lead to me feeling better, but again, stuck in the metaphorical mud.
There are also the mountain of things on the old to-do list that I know I need to do and yet I get into their weird paralysis where even looking at the first thing feels like a monumental chore. I already struggle with procrastination in the best of times, so this certainly isn’t helping.
But, as the eternal optimist I am, I know this is just a temporary thing. I know better days are ahead and better things are coming.
