In a mood.

Unannounced.

Uninvited.

Unwelcome.

In a word, “grumpy.”

My grandmother always talked about a January thaw — a brief reprieve that made winter bearable, a glimmer of hope that spring couldn’t be far away. A “mood brightener” — that’s what I was looking for this week. But no such luck. 

First off, winter is not my favorite season — not enough daylight for my liking. I don’t mind the snow — in moderation. I can live with the cold — in moderation. I can even survive on less than nine hours of daylight. (I’m like a plant, I need sunlight, shine on me, please.)

I thought we’d finally turned the corner on December 21; the days are getting longer. That should have been enough for me — but, no.

It wasn’t the drab weather or the darkness or the cold that had me stuck in a foul mood. It was all that — and more.

Should I — dare I — blame . . . . the news?

Try and understand. I’m looking for some good news here, people, something to make a person smile — or at least not wince.

The headlines are enough to make a person lock their doors, curl up in a ball, pull the blankets over their head and boycott the world. Is it too much to ask for a little sanity, a little levity, a little something happy?

You know how an inch of white, fluffy snow can cover up the weary gray gunk of midwinter and it makes you smile — just a little. It hides the bad stuff for just a day or two and makes us see the good again.

I’m growing weary of the mid-winter doom and gloom. I need some white fluff.

What I don’t need is . . . .

■ Presidential candidates squabbling like children on national TV. And which one gets to be our Commander-in-chief?

■ Another reminder that the economy is headed for the toilet — at least that’s the constant chant/rant on every news update. Announcers waited with baited breath Tuesday for a stock market crash.

And have you heard . . .

■ Gas will be soon be so expensive that we’ll all be walking or pedaling or just staying home.

■ Milk will become so valuable I’ll have to resort to eating dry cereal.

■ They’re changing Miss America?

The list goes on . . .

■ All the “good” movies are violent, horrifying, crude or just plain stupid.

■ The Packers lost.

■ National Geographic wrote of North Dakota’s eminent demise in a full-color spread for all the world to see.

■ Crime reports that turn your stomach.

■ Global warning will kill us all.

■ Accidents that frighten us.

■ Obituaries for teenagers.

■ Leaders who betray us.

■ Celebrities who crash and burn daily — and that’s all we can talk about!

So what will it take to wrench me from this funk? A long overdue nap, two inches off my waistline, and maybe, just maybe, a news report from someone other than Chicken Little.