What went well:
Networking. I met some lovely and interesting writers at AWP23 conference here in Seattle in March, and as a result of one of those meetings I won free tuition in a writing course that I liked. As a result of another meeting, I got to be a guest on a podcast for the first time.
made it a great experience and I hope we’ll keep in touch.Writing. I keep learning more about what my book should be as I write the second draft. It’s exciting to bring the draft close to the goal of showing what I want to show. The book shows an only child navigating the seismic events of her mother’s death, plus the baffling changes to all her family relationships. She keeps her life smooth and relatively happy through close, safe friendships and through her own passionate interests. It’s a memoir based on my childhood journals and memories. Through writing it, I’ve found it gratifying to put wordless childhood feelings into words, translating childish behavior, making it make sense.
Exercise. I kept doing five basic barbell lifts (through November, anyway — more on that below), plus warming up on the Concept 2 rowing machine, plus what I consider the hard calisthenics — push-ups, pull-ups, and toes-to-bar. I do all this in the garage and listen to podcasts or music with Jabra earbuds. I want to buy a Hydrow Wave rowing machine to replace the 14-year-old C2.
Outdoors. Tom and I went hiking at Mt Rainier this summer with two sets of family visitors and I went on two overnight trips, also to Rainier, with two different friends. My favorite thing might have been revisiting the trail that overlooks the source of the White River, the Emmons Glacier. Also in the outdoors department, I took a couple of fantastic solo day-hikes in the Ozarks, and had sunny autumn trails and river bluffs all to myself.
Family. We hosted many of my beloved in-laws this summer, more than ever before. Everything went smoothly and each visit was a lot of fun. And I spent almost three weeks in rural Missouri visiting a cousin for a few days and then my aunt for two full weeks. I loved having solo time with both of them, and loved helping my aunt with little projects. And exploring the beautiful local roads and towns in the area never gets old.
Swimming. I got better at it. Can’t wait to get back in the lake. I should go to the pool, but I don’t really like pools. I like to drift slowly for as long as possible before touching bottom, or bob up and down without touching anything. I’m still getting better at relaxing in the water by doing those things. Someday I’ll be able to swim to the buoy offshore, or swim in a pool lane with confidence, but haven’t done it yet and don’t mind.
Houseplants. It’s the first year I’ve had them. I love caring for them using the Planta app to keep track. I have a few succulents permanently under lights, and a few lower-light-tolerant plants that do well near windows. Nothing too fussy.
What went less well:
Pain. I first noticed heel pain in late July 2022 and ignored it until late that fall, when I started trying different physical-therapy exercises. It was too late for that to work. All of the fun we had this summer with family, and all the cool hikes I got to do — and even my casual bike rides — were done with a distracting and depressing level of pain that lingered and even worsened after resting. Now that I’ve had a course of steroids and two weeks of nonstop ibuprofen, and more rest than I like, this has improved dramatically. After seeing the foot doc on December 8, I stopped lifting weights. I’ve only been rowing, bicycling, and doing calisthenics, and these do not cause pain. Maybe later in January I can go back to lifting. What about next summer’s hikes? I don’t know.
Garden. The area where I’ve grown dahlias for four seasons really isn’t ideal for them. The soil needed more improvement between seasons if they were going to do as well as they had the first two years. I put a lot of compost up there on Thanksgiving weekend and will again in early spring. I’m also going to phase in different flowers such as coneflower and rudbeckia, so that if the dahlias still don’t thrive I will have something else.
Writing and blogging/Substack. It’s not news that there are so many writers that it’s almost impossible for any one person to get attention — but it is frustrating. I like what I write, and I keep learning to think of each essay as something the reader should learn something from, or at least should have a satisfying experience of seeing something happen in the piece. Something should evolve, change, or shift between the beginning and the end. I don’t always produce that experience. But with my book not close to ready to launch, I hope with patience I can build an audience.
Mask wearing —> COVID. That is, mask-wearing did not go well, because I refrained from it in the wrong setting. I caught COVID for the first time in late October. It wasn’t too bad. I got the new vaccine booster in September, and I wore a mask on the flights to Missouri and in the airport and so on. Enjoyed my visit with my family mask-free and was not in any crowded places, and stayed healthy. Didn’t wear a mask on the way home. Mistake! I tested positive five days after the flight.
Guitar. I stopped playing — again!
What went well for you in 2023?
Testing to see if I can post.