What 2017 Will Bring

I don’t like early January. It’s not that the parties are over. It’s that the entire coming year stretches ahead of me in my imagination, an obligation waiting to be met. An obligation weighing me down.

Maybe it’s linked to too many years working on projects where someone else set the schedule. I can’t work harder and get through the year faster: I really do have to take it one day at a time.

So for this first year of retirement (semi or full), I’m going to try a new way of looking at the year, by considering what it will bring.

365 Mornings

Sunrise backlighting driftwood on the beach at Bull Island.

Some Pretty Chilly Mornings

Black fowl, fluffed up against the cold

Opportunities for Reflection(s)

Reflection of black-necked stilt wading in still pond.

Chances to Stick My Neck Out

Snail on aggregate sidewalk

Chances to Draw Back

Turtle with necked pulled into shell

Times for Naps

Yellow-crowned night heron, eyes closed to a slit

Times to Stay Oh-so-Fully Alert

Yellow-crowned night heron sitting upright and alert.

Time with Old Friends

Gila woodpecker on saguaro cactus

Chances to Meet New Friends

Roseate spoobill on treetop, wings extended.

Uncomfortable Moments

Prairie dog looking at camera as if startled

Happily Oblivious Moments

Sloth hanging from tree branch

Doubts about Ever Making My Mark

Interstate exit sign for Gibson Boulevard

Times when I Forget about Myself Altogether

Whelk and shell scatter on sandy beach.

Chances to Stand on My Own

Prsirie dog upright, chewing on blade of grass

Chances to Sing with Another

Two grackles in leafless tree; marsh in background

Moments when Things Aren’t Clear at All

Snowy intertstate road in snow storm

Moments of Perfect Clarity

No Hunting sign that adds: Don't Ask

Moments when a Photographic Plan Comes Together

Viewpoint for Colorado River with sunlit shrub in foreground

Moments with Unplanned Bits of Blue Plastic

Sunset-lit prairie grass

Wrap-up

Looked at like that, the year doesn’t seem so onerous, somehow.

Although I admit I could do without those pesky bits of blue plastic.

 

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10 Responses to What 2017 Will Bring

  1. Jim Robertson says:

    Nice summary Isabel

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Jim R – Thanks! I decided I’d better leave out the bridges – it was getting too long as it was.

  2. Sid says:

    and hopefully a lot of good health.

    Sid

  3. Tom Watson says:

    Isabel
    What a neat way to lay out a new year!

    All the best of 2017 to you!
    Tom

  4. What a lovely and positive way of looking at life as a collection of moments… thanks Isabel… Happy New Year… sending you a big hug.

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Lorna – Thanks, and Happy New Year to you, too. Sorry I didn’t have any pictures of animals quilting!

  5. Alison says:

    We would all do well to reflect back on this post frequently throughout the year. I find they just go by too fast! and despite my best intentions, I wonder if I have appreciated the “moments” the way I should. Happy New Year friend, I hope we can get together at some point in 2017

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Alison – The years go by quickly, that’s for sure. Maybe the moments are a little more amenable to a reasonable pace? For sure 2017 will bring at least one moment together.

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