DESIGN FOR MANKIND

So, you’ve been unplugging from the Internet and are all caught up on the adventures of Del Griffith, Cousin Eddie, Kevin McCallister and Ralphie Parker? Feeling like a detox from the popcorn, the hot cocoa, the leftover buckeyes? You’ve taken 18 walks around the neighborhood to see the lights, you’ve built the gingerbread house, you’ve lit the pine candles, you’ve crossed off every item on your winter break bucket list and Bing Crosby isn’t doing it for ya anymore?
Me, too.
I’m itchy for the calendar flip. I’m ready.
2015 was full and good. It was a weird season of sowing seeds, of laying the groundwork for future years, big dreams. Adoption paperwork, book writing, home studies, book editing, and so far I can see that 2016 is shaping up to be the year I water it all, and the year that I wait.
I see it clearly, the pattern. 2015: Sow. 2016: Wait. 2017: Reap.
I don’t know what the next year will hold, in addition to the waiting, but I’m OK with it. For now, I’m going to celebrate the hard work, the digging and pruning and cultivating of the year.
Sometimes, when our hands are deep in dirt, it’s hard to look up and see the seeds. But they’re here, a few pieces I’m proud of, a few posts I wrote this year that gave me a kick in the pants, a jolt in perspective, a gentle nudge when I needed it. I hope they did the same for you.
Below:
If you’re feeling social media envy, read this one.
If you’re feeling lost on the path you’ve chosen, if you’re feeling left behind or directionless, read this one.
If you’re feeling like you should be doing more with your day/passions/gifts, read this one.
If you need to stop beating yourself up for being an emotional trainwreck at times, read this one.
If you feel unbalanced and frenzied (and yell-y), read this one.
If you’re focusing inward and attempting a small change in your life, read this one.
If (when?) your toddler hurts your feelings, read this one.
If you need to shift your definition of love, read this one.
If you need a quick (unexpected) tip for purging clutter, read this one.
If you need a list of things to remember for the day, read this one.
If you want to fight better with your spouse, read this one.
If you need to redefine simple living for yourself, read this one.
If you need to silence the incessant toddler WHYYYYYs, read this one.
If you’re wrestling with religion, read this one.
If you need a new go-to salad that even your kids will love, read this one.
If you need to see the beauty in today, read this one.
If you’re looking for the perfect gift idea for a new mother, read this one.
If you need freedom from your perceived identity, read this one.
If you need to accept your currently cluttered house, read this one.
If a change you’re making is producing tension with others, read this one.
If you need permission to be a bit selfish right now, read this one.
If you want to rethink how you’re spending your time, read this one.
Happy 2024, friends. Here’s to getting what you need, and to realizing you’ve already had it all along.