1/1/1

Life happened – blissfully, not the kind that makes one want to duck and cover, retreating to a dark place such as the beginning of 2025 – so (not and), I haven’t written in a few months. Writing is good for me, so as I enter this New Year (same me) it’s time to recognize what worked and what needs more work because I’m not there (where? – the next level of life) just yet.

I love the word yet. In 2025, my step count was 9,728 steps per day. I didn’t reach my goal of 10K steps yet. See how one sentence “I didn’t reach my step goal of 10K” is a negative. But just by adding the word “yet”, the whole sentence changes meaning. Yet allows us to take what we have and make it better without placing blame. Yet – my word for 2026.

2026 – in numerology is a number 1. The year of new beginnings. Combined with the year of the horse, this year promises to take the sheddings and seedlings of 2025 (year of the snake) to full bloom. But now is still the time for rest and reflection. Winter is dark; nothing blooms now. It makes me question the new year time of life, as spring would be so much more fitting. Chatting with others maybe not as connected with nature or the sun, they don’t seems to get that just because a calendar says NEW YEAR! it still might not be the time for all those beginnings.

Simplicity is also a 2026 for me. What do I want to work on this year? Getting into nature daily. Genuine and authentic connections. More talk, less text. Capturing time with those people and those things I love. Laughing again. Finding love and showing love. Being brave. But I don’t need to do it all at once, and the outcomes do not need to be lofty. Step by step. Simple, easy, effortless.

I think more on my mind is how to get through the next 5 months of school. We aren’t even at the halfway point yet. (I guess in this case the yet takes a slightly negative connotation.) The job is a dream. My schedule is brutal. However, I do not have time to think, wonder or question life during the day. Maybe that’s why it’s taken me two longish breaks to even think about writing again? I found myself in yoga the other day. First time for that since the summer, as well. It was necessary and welcomed by both my mind and body. Another goal for 2026, allow time and space for things other than what happens between 8am and 3pm. Shouldn’t that just be a thing? Maybe I need a daily sticker to remind myself of that one.

Everything I’m putting out there, I’m also actively working on. It just may need a bit of a booster. My step counter starts over today. I’m still not at 10K steps for the day yet…