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For years, my mother bought
me this diary and
it is still a personal favorite. |
I am looking forward to 2013, as I’ve expressed more than
once before. The past year has been a
challenging one and I always assume that whatever the previous year’s
experiences may have been the upcoming year will be a change. Not necessarily a change for the better. Different will suffice.
One of the things I’ve committed to doing in 2013 is to read
the books I’ve accumulated (I mention some of the creativity books in this post
here) over the years. Too many books
cluttering my never enough bookshelves.
The plan is to not borrow any books from the public library that are not
either artistic/inspirational/crafty or children’s books. I want to still borrow books because the
public library relies on funding that is based on how many books are
borrowed. In an effort to continue
supporting my teeny tiny local library, I figure I can have the “best” of both
worlds—read the books I have on hand yet borrow books from the library.
I’ve created this
pinterest board with a nearly complete
list of the books I currently have on hand.
Nearly complete because there are boxes blocking access to some of the
books and there are many more books that remain unpacked. But these are most of the books.
The past year has been difficult, especially as I try to
find ways to connect with those I care about most deeply. Reading the Bible is one small gesture. We will mutually benefit from the experience
and, for me, the most important part of this will be the opportunity to enhance
a relationship that matters a great deal
to me.
To that end, I invited my daughter to join me in something as
well. We’ve agreed to work on our
handwriting, to improve our penmanship.
I borrowed several resources from the public library and found this one
book:
Write Now by Inga Dubay. Unfortunately, it is out of print so we will
have to borrow it multiple times, returning it and practicing and then
borrowing it again. There seems to be a
real gap in such resources with basic handwriting resources designed for children
and then calligraphy but nothing really in between meant to just help an adult
write more legibly. This book seems to
fit the bill quite nicely and my daughter concurs.

We’ve agreed to do the following:
- Write one page a day
- Scan one page from the previous week’s practice and email it
to one another
- Once a month, send one another a quote or something similar
to write
That last one will be put into play later in the year. At first, we will be doing enough just
practicing our form, writing rows of letters and such. It is a simple thing and often it is the
simple things that make connecting all more precious.
If you care to join me, if you wish to practice your own penmanship with the hope of improving, please leave a comment.
Which brings me to the next project for 2013. This year for Christmas I gave each of my
children an empty jar. (I also gave one
to our neighbors, sent some slips of paper to Love, and shared this with just
everyone and anyone on facebook, google+, and pinterest.) The idea behind this is to take an empty jar
and, beginning with the new year, every time something good happens you write
it out on a small slip of paper. Then,
on New Year’s Eve, you open the jar and read all of these slips of paper you
have collected during the previous year.
Needless to say, I love this idea or I wouldn’t have shared
it so promiscuously. (And yes, it is not a coincidence that I'm making sure to share it here too because I really want everyone possible to at least think about this idea, and maybe, just maybe, find it as enchanting as I.) After all, 2012 may
have had its disappointments, like my mother flying to be with my uncle before
he died during my one and only visit, and my step-sister's mother dying, as well as a widowed aunt-by marriage. But it also had some wonderful moments as
well. In April, my son officially
adopted his step-daughter and in October the adoption was finalized.
My son also visited us for the holidays and, because Rob did
not go home to see his family, I had most of my immediate family here for
Christmas. In fact, at one point when I
was lying down, I could hear the laughter of my children, the voices of their
bantering with Rob, and I thought to myself, “I could die right now and do so
perfectly content.”
Contentment, even for a moment, is a wondrous thing.
So there were these good moments and maybe some pouting
disappointments and even some palpable grief but the year is coming to a close
and I am not licking my wounds. Rather,
I am looking forward to the new year and, as I’ve already shared, making
plans.
Now where were we? I
said I would be:
As if that were not enough, I’ve agreed to do a few other
things.
My son Marc took his GRE in 2012 and has a projected score
of 311/340. I don’t know how the
projected score relates to the actual final score but I think it’s safe to say
that he’s pretty much locked down any chance of his going to graduate
school. In the meantime, he’s in Chicago
and will be filling his 2013 jar. But he’s
also agreed to watch some Netflix instant streaming movies with me. Oh boy!
We’ve agreed to watch 2 movies a month and touch base with one another,
share our thoughts and feelings about what we watched. Not unlike a book club only using
movies/Netflix.
Consider this an open
invitation. If you have Netflix and
would like to join us, I would love to do so.
Yes, my son and I will be watching 2 movies a month but, given an
average of 4 weeks per month, that leaves 2 weeks open and we could do this as
an online thing. Leave a comment if you’re
interested.
Rob and I are also finding ways to build our
relationship. We’ll be exercising. Together, no less! We’ll also be watching movies/dvds together,
learning a foreign language together, and we’ve planned monthly game dates with
local friends and family members. Second
Tuesday of every month with a request to have RSVPs by the preceding Sunday so
we can plan a potluck. (That way, even
when we don’t have enough money to have everyone here, we can make sure
everyone has something to eat.)
There is something more, something else, which I choose to
withhold for now. I’m clearly inspired
by 2013. Are you inspired as well? What
are you plans, your intentions, your hopes, wishes, expectations, goals for the
new year?