The New Year

This year will be different, of that much I am certain. Death and taxes are certain, but change, too, comes to us whether we ask it to or not. When we consider the existence of those who have lived quietly, the worlds of people like Jane Austen and Emily Carr where the daily routines of life did not vary dramatically, it is easy to believe that their lives held little alteration. But as I look back on my own past year, and forward to the year to come, it is the small changes that cause the most ripples in my life. This past year, I have watched my children grow like the flowers in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Secret Garden, bursting into their own spring a little each day. My oldest has watched a friend suffer a serious spinal cord injury, in the sport they both love, and learned about a community coming together to support a remarkable young man in his quest to recover. My son has also begun his own early steps to secure his future as an adult, as he begins to look at colleges, got his driving permit, is taking his first AP course, and took his PSATs. My second son, who is dyslexic, discovered that he likes to read (insert virtual cartwheels here). He was the force behind our trip to Italy, where we reconnected with cousins I haven’t seen in many years and paved the way for a new generation of friendships. My daughter has become an accomplished reader, a pretty amazing goalie, and has learned a lot about being true to herself. As I look ahead to the coming year, I will graduate from the MFA program at Lesley, teach a summer program, and grow with my children. These are not particularly monumental milestones or changes, and yet each creates a wake of its own, rolling out in currents I can’t anticipate. I may not sell any of my work, and I certainly won’t be the next international writing superstar, but the alterations coming this year will inform my writing, will change my writing, and will change me. I think, I hope, that I have reached a place where those changes are certain to make me a better person. Death and taxes and change. These things are certain.
Happy New Year