The Word for 2018

The last three years, I had chosen a guiding word for the year, a word that would represent my goals for the coming year.  I haven't made New Year's resolutions for years; I figured one word shouldn't be hard.

For 2016,  I chose "Determination" and then promptly forgot about the word.

For 2017, I decided perhaps I was a year too soon with that word, and chose Determination again.  In part, I said:

"DETERMINATION - not to stay silent if speaking out against hatred is needed.

DETERMINATION - to stand up against events that need standing up against.   I think about authors who have written books that have changed the world.  It is possible.  I must remember that one person CAN make a difference.  Could a blog post change the world?

DETERMINATION - to make my voice heard if the quality of life of my brother in law, who is developmentally disabled, is threatened.  

DETERMINATION - once again, that I will grow my writing, and my photography, no matter what my personal challenges are this year.  Even if it only grows a little, it will be a victory. "

And then I promptly forgot about the word. 

No focus.

So, what did 2017 hand me, and others I know?

One of my first cousins died.  At that time, I learned that he was in the early stages of Parkinson's, which contributed to the cause of his death (choking on food).
A co worker's mother died on Christmas Day.
A fall my spouse took that he may not ever heal completely from.
Someone I went to high school and college with was diagnosed with cancer. 
My family faces many challenges with future planning for my developmentally disabled brother in law.

As we age (I am officially a senior citizen now), people we know sicken, or, sometimes, die.  We will go down that last path one day ourselves, and that realization has hit me hard in the past year. That realization makes relationships more important than ever. 


We like to think of ourselves as independent.  But when my spouse fell in October, and ended up in the ER, I suddenly found myself being helped with various issues, and I am grateful for each and everyone of them.  In fact, we are all interdependent.  

I need to pay this kindness forward.

Tomorrow, I join, once again, the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  I am thinking of how I cherish some of these blogging relationships - I look forward to making cyberfriends this year through this and other challenges.

So I am not going to choose a word this year.  But I do have some goals that I need to work on.

I hope I can be a good friend to my friends, old and (hopefully) new.  I hope I can be someone who will be honest, someone who will make you laugh, someone you can trust, someone who will stand by you.  And, in my own little way, perhaps I can start to change the world with one little ripple.  

One little flap of my butterfly wings.

Courtesy of my guest photographer

Happy New Year to all my readers, near and far!  

 I look forward to interacting with some of you this January, in the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Winter Wednesday - Snow and Resolutions

Today, a photo of a dead tree in a frozen over swamp in rural Broome County, New York, for my blog readers who love snow.

This was taken by my "guest photographer" in a swampy area which is frozen over, so my guest photographer was able to get "up close and personal" with this and other dead tree roots sticking out of the ice.

So, what does that have to do with the other thing I want to talk about today?

I read a blog post yesterday that made me think.   

"February 7 is the day we give up".

That's right.  We start the year with the best of intentions.  We start out at full speed, with the best of intentions.  But, before you know it, we realize it is going to take time, and work, to reach our goals. We say "the heck with it." And that happens...around February 7.

I had this word for the year....what was it, again?  Oh yes.  Determination.

I had already forgotten it.

But yesterday, something interesting happened to me.  It was drizzling, and the temperature was right at freezing.  The conditions were right for freezing drizzle.   I knew that was a possibility as I started my commute to work.

I'm scared of ice.   But I ended up having to walk on some sidewalks yesterday that were just starting to ice up.  I didn't have ice cleats on, and my balance (despite the balance exercises I do) isn't the best.  I was so tempted to freeze (no pun intended) in place the first time I started to slide.  But I knew I had to keep moving.

I made it to my destination.

Once there, we talked about some serious things in a meeting, but also shared a couple of jokes.

That's more advice from the post I read yesterday- remember to laugh and have a good time.

I will remain determined, and I will remember to be grateful, and to laugh, every day.

Dogs, Doves and Determination

The Rose Parade has taken place for 127 years now in Pasadena, California, usually on the first day of January.  (It is not held on Sundays, so on days where January 1 falls on a Sunday, like this year, the parade is held on January 2.)

I watched it, thousands of miles away, at my home in upstate New York

Creating a float takes hundreds of hours and lots of determination.  The rules seem simple - floats in the parade must be covered in natural materials.  So, every visible surface on every float you see is decorated in flowers, bark, seeds, walnut husks, or other natural materials. Flowers, seeds and more must be glued on individually.  Some materials are so fine that volunteers use tweezers.  Since most of the materials are perishable, they must be installed on the floats hours or days before the parade, by hundreds of volunteers.

The best floats receive awards.

The work is tedious - but, look at what this determination produces.

This float was called Doing Good in the World.

In this closeup, you can see some of the natural materials.

There are two other floats I would like you to see.   One float featured surfing dogs.  Yes, several dogs surfed, on real water, carefully monitored by handlers.

The float with the dogs was the largest and heaviest float ever in the Rose Parade. It is successfully rounding a corner which lessor floats have become hung up on.

The other float paid tribute to victims of a tragic shooting last year at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.  Several survivors of the shooting rode on the float.  Doves were released to honor the 49 dead.  A large flowered dove hovered over the float.

It was a beautiful tribute, but sad, knowing that so much violence still remains in the world.

Again, determination - determination to continue forward after experiencing something like that, was on display.

A lesson in determination for day 3 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Whispering Determination

Welcome to 2017, and a new Ultimate Blog Challenge. 

The Challenge requires 31 posts in 31 days. It's a discipline all bloggers need at least one time in their blogging lives.

For 2017, I chose a word - determination - as the word that will guide me this year.  This coming year will demand a lot from us. Today, as the beginning of my year of determination,  I remember someone from years ago who showed me determination from a deep place inside her.

On my Christmas tree each year is a simple ornament.  But the story behind it is less simple.

Many years ago, the company I was working for was bought by a new owner, along with a couple of other local businesses.  Two offices were combined into the office where I worked, and Pat came into my life.

Pat was many things - an experienced worker, a loving mother and grandmother, and a woman who love crafts - needlepoint, tole, and more.

Her and her husband, a building contractor, restored a house in Maine, New York, and had a loving marriage. 

Every year, at work, we would have a small gift exchange at Christmastime. Pat's contribution was always a Christmas ornament - usually made by her, or one made by another craftsperson.

One December day, Pat called her co workers together.

A couple of months ago, she said, she had found a lump on her neck.  She went to the doctor, who immediately ran tests.  It was cancer.  Not only that, they found cancer all through her body.  Doctors ran more tests, trying to find where the cancer had originated.  It turned out to be lung cancer. She had perhaps 18 months to live.

Pat was only able to work a couple of more months.   We all kept in touch after she went out on permanent disability.  It was a small office, and we were close to each other.  We knew each other, our spouses, our children.  Pat had to prepare her children and grandchildren. 

Pat always conducted herself with dignity and determination, and the months after the diagnosis were no exception.  By her example, she showed us how to face death with dignity.

Our office, in the next months, fell apart due to poor management.  One by one, we left.  By the next Christmas, several of us were unemployed.  As each co workers quit the job,  they started to spend time with Pat every Tuesday when she felt up to it.  When I left, I joined them in the Tuesday outings.

The Tuesday before Christmas in 1997, Pat gave us our final gift - the gift of her presence.  We took her out to a local restaurant, and she gave us a tour of her house - something that took great effort.

By January of 1998, we suspected the end was near.  She could not walk more than a few steps without losing her breath.

Pat died on February 13, 1998, a day short of Valentine's Day, a week after suffering a stroke and lapsing into a coma.  In my last visit to her, five days before her death, she lay on a bed, under home hospice care.  Her favorite country music playing.  I held her hand and whispered in her ear.  I don't know if it was my imagination, but I am positive she gently squeezed my hand.

In September of 2011, my neighborhood was flooded and we had several feet of water in our basement.  We were so fortunate, compared to many of our neighbors.  The next months were hard for us and many other in our community.

When we cleaned out our basement, I found that several of the homemade ornaments Pat had given me were ruined.  There was no way to salvage them.  But the ornament you see above, a needlework Pat made, had survived in a box above the water level.  Yes, Pat was watching over me.

Every year the ornament goes on our tree, a sign of survival, caring and love.


Time marches on, and things change for us all.  But Pat lives on in my heart, even after all these years.  Every year, I gaze upon the ornament she gave me, the ornament she stitched with her own hands.  It whispers determination.

One day, my time will come, and I hope I can face it with the same dignity that Pat did.  For now, I will be content to face 2017 with courage, dignity, and determination, through all 2017 will demand of us.

I am Determined to complete the challenges of 2017 and the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  Are you?

What Word Does 2017 Need?

In 2016, I started the New Year by choosing a word - Determination.

And then I totally forgot about it.

I had said I was determined to make a difference - great or small.  I don't know if I did.  But 2017 is not going to be 2016. 

In the United States, we have an incoming administration that is scaring many of us.  Hate is on the rise.  Minorities are fearful. 

Hand of Man, Owego, New York, 2015

The angels of our world seem to be in short supply, and powerless.

from Hanukkah House museum, Binghamton, NY  2012

Snowbabies may be cute, but this is quickly becoming a time for more than cuteness.

Those of us who choose a #WOTY (Word of the Year) are making our choices.  There are so many good words to choose from - love, happiness, explore, simplicity, daring greatly, enable, gratitude, and more.  They are all good words.  When I thought of mine, this word popped up right away.

We need, for 2017..... Determination

Perhaps I chose my word a year early.  NOW is the time for determination.

DETERMINATION - not to stay silent if speaking out against hatred is needed.

DETERMINATION - to stand up against events that need standing up against.   I think about authors who have written books that have changed the world.  It is possible.  I must remember that one person CAN make a difference.  Could a blog post change the world?

DETERMINATION - to make my voice heard if the quality of life of my brother in law, who is developmentally disabled, is threatened.  

DETERMINATION - once again, that I will grow my writing, and my photography, no matter what my personal challenges are this year.  Even if it only grows a little, it will be a victory.   

Today, I link with #FridayReflections at Everyday Gyaan and  Laurel at Alphabet Salad.  
Will you join us?   Have you picked a word for 2017?

Tomorrow, I join the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  Let's see what determination can do.
  
To all my readers, near and far:  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Determined?

Determination was my word for 2016.  I chose it the last day of 2015, and then I promptly forgot I had chosen it.

Until now.

I am determined not to forget a word I chose again.  The world won't let me forget, either.  In retrospect, it was a good choice for 2016.

The world has changed in these last 12 months.  It is grimmer.  We are going into a new year with a new President who takes office on January 20, and there is both hope and fear for the future.

Living in our new world takes determination and other qualities. 

It is time for me to choose a word for 2017 (assuming I do choose one).  In the meantime, here is my post from December 31, 2015:

West side of Binghamton, New York, 2015

It's time to sparkle.

I am blowing off the dust from my blog, which hasn't been refreshed in a while.  I updated my blogging template, as my regular readers (thank you for coming!) will note.

I joined a blogging challenge for the first time in several months.  I read several older posts for inspiration.  I went to a sparkling wine tasting, and tasted, for the first time, Dom Perignon, Cristal, and even the Pol Roger Champagne served at William and Kate's wedding reception.

DETERMINATION

DETERMINATION will be my word for 2016.  (My word for 2015 - DIFFERENT - well, 2015 was different, all right).  I'm being more careful with my word for 2016.  I am:

DETERMINED that I will attain certain goals, which I will not reveal to my blog readers.  (Why?  It is said you are more likely to succeed if you don't announce them.)

DETERMINED that the essential "me" will not be swallowed up by the need to help with the needs of my elderly mother in law and my developmentally disabled brother in law.

DETERMINED that I will grow my writing, and my photography, no matter what my personal challenges are this year.  Even if it only grows a little, it will be a victory.   Even if, at some point, I decide to no longer blog daily, the fact that I have for nearly five years is a victory.

This past year, I learned once again just how precious life can be. The 39 year old son of someone I went to high school with died in a freak accident, leaving a young child and a pregnant wife.  My best friend from childhood died from cancer. A former co worker is gravely ill as I write this, and probably will not survive her illness. It would be a terrible thing to waste the opportunities I have been given.

Of course, it could be just the Champagne talking, but I don't think so.  I was buoyed by a couple of recent comments on my blog, one by a reader who said she would miss me if I stopped blogging, and another one who extended an invitation. (That second person has no idea how introverted I am in real life but...hey, one can grow in ways other than blogging, too.).

I know I have something of value to share with the world.  I am determined to make a difference, small or large.

So....please join me tomorrow as I start a new year of blogging, and a year of determination.

Will you be choosing a word for the coming year?

Music Monday - Unforgettable

On New Year's Eve, Natalie Cole passed away at the age of 65.

She was the daughter of a legendary jazz singer, Nat King Cole, who died when Natalie was 15 years old.

It isn't easy when you are the son or daughter of a legend. You must prove your own worth, and people don't take you seriously.  Natalie wanted to succeed on the basis of her own talent, but the link to her father was brought up again and again.  For years, she would not sing her father's songs.

A song from early in her career. (Everlasting Love).

Natalie Cole turned to heroin and crack cocaine for solace.  Her drug use began in college and continued through the early years of her fame.   She conquered her addictions after entering rehab in 1983, but the price on her body was high - she contracted Hepatitis C and announced it in 2008.  Natalie Cole ended up needing dialysis and, later, a kidney transplant.

She lived a life of determination despite her rocky beginnings and her health problems.

Ms. Cole was a success in the music field, winning nine Grammy Awards.

Ironically, one of her best known songs was a duet she performed, through the magic of modern day technology, with her father.  They sang one of her father's biggest hits, Unforgettable.

 Aretha Franklin announcing the death of Natalie Cole at a concert on January 1.

We will Miss You Like Crazy.

Upon her death, her family said (according to Wikipedia) "Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived ... with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain unforgettable in our hearts forever."

If you have a memory of Natalie, share it in the comments below.

Determination in Action

Welcome, new readers, and all, to my blog.  I have been blogging since April of 2009, daily since late March of 2011. 

Today, I decided to take inspiration from a parade held in Pasadena, California each New Years Day- the Tournament of Roses parade, and see how I could apply the lessons of a parade to my daily life.  I've chosen the word "Determination" as my word of the year.

What is special about this parade?  After all, many parades have floats and marching bands.  But this particular parade has a special rule:  all floats must be covered in organic material - flowers, seeds, bark, and like material. 

And what stories you can tell with these materials. Stories of determination.

A ballerina performing Swan Lake - a float honoring a 13 year old ballerina battling leukemia. 
She says "Cancer has taken a lot from me...I won't let it take ballet."

This float honored organ donor recipients - all of the riders are alive today because of organ or tissue donors.   They are too small to see, but there are also portraits, made of flowers, of those who who donated organs after they died.  I know two people who passed away because they needed an organ donation - one, a heart, one, a liver - and couldn't get them.

The Florida Panther - the most endangered mammal in the Eastern United States.

And the American bison (left), a "symbol of strength and determination".

Each one of these floats takes months to decide and build.  But the organic materials must be applied at the very last minute - the last week (12-27 through 12-31) before the parade.  The work is done by both professionals and volunteers, who labor day and night, applying sometimes tiny materials (anything from lentils to onion seed to ground cinnamon), and covering themselves in glue.  Some flowers must be placed, individually, into vials of water.

After the parade, there is a time for public viewing.  After that, the floats are stripped, and materials that can be recycled are - a messy job.

How can I not be inspired by these examples of determination?   The work I put into my blog and my life pale in comparison.

What are you inspired by the most?  What do you use to fuel your determination?

Today is day 1 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge and the Ultra Blog Challenge.

Determination

I lied to you, my dear readers.  Instead of using an already published post as the basis for my last post of 2015, I am creating a brand new post, which I wrote last night.

West side of Binghamton, New York

It's time to sparkle.

I am blowing off the dust from my blog, which hasn't been refreshed in a while.  I updated my blogging template, as my regular readers (thank you for coming!) will note.

I joined a blogging challenge for the first time in several months.  I read several older posts for inspiration.  I went to a sparkling wine tasting, and tasted, for the first time, Dom Perignon, Cristal, and even the Pol Roger Champagne served at William and Kate's wedding reception.

DETERMINATION

DETERMINATION will be my word for 2016.  (My word for 2015 - DIFFERENT - well, 2015 was different, all right).  I'm being more careful with my word for 2016.  I am:

DETERMINED that I will attain certain goals, which I will not reveal to my blog readers.  (Why?  It is said you are more likely to succeed if you don't announce them.)

DETERMINED that the essential "me" will not be swallowed up by the need to help with the needs of my elderly mother in law and my developmentally disabled brother in law.

DETERMINED that I will grow my writing, and my photography, no matter what my personal challenges are this year.  Even if it only grows a little, it will be a victory.   Even if, at some point, I decide to no longer blog daily, the fact that I have for nearly five years is a victory.

This past year, I learned once again just how precious life can be. The 39 year old son of someone I went to high school with died in a freak accident, leaving a young child and a pregnant wife.  My best friend from childhood died from cancer. A former co worker is gravely ill as I write this, and probably will not survive her illness. It would be a terrible thing to waste the opportunities I have been given.

Of course, it could be just the Champagne talking, but I don't think so.  I was buoyed by a couple of recent comments on my blog, one by a reader who said she would miss me if I stopped blogging, and another one who extended an invitation. (That second person has no idea how introverted I am in real life but...hey, one can grow in ways other than blogging, too.).

I know I have something of value to share with the world.  I am determined to make a difference, small or large.

So....please join me tomorrow as I start a new year of blogging, and a year of determination.

Will you be choosing a word for the coming year?  If you are, come link with Laurel at Alphabet Salad

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