“Remember, the thing you strive for isn’t perfection; it’s not the easy win or the avoidance of failure. It’s the gift of growth, the opportunity for evolution. Life in a box is not life well lived.”
Jonathan Fields
It may seem a little odd to be posting my regular “What’s in the year ahead?” piece when a twelfth of the year has already slipped away, but the start of this particular one has been a little odd.
For the Kickass Canada Girl and I 2019 was always going to be a tough act to follow. Our first trip back to the UK and Europe since moving to Canada turned out to be a huge production, full of joyful memories and exquisite moments. The rest of the year seemed also to be filled with milestones, be they connected to the completion of The Girl’s studies and launch of her new venture or in relation to my own creative and educational ventures. It was always fairly likely that 2020 would start with a period of entrenchment, during which time we figured out what it all meant.
The start of the year has delivered another unexpected quirk in that it finds us acting as hosts to a ‘waif and stray’; providing temporary refuge for a very old friend of The Girl’s who is in need of a home in the short term. We feel most blessed that we are equipped – in our lovely North Saanich home – to offer shelter to those who need it (and – no! – I am not referring to the ginger prince and his missus!).
I am teaching again, but this time a course that is all new to me… or would be did it not contain many elements that I myself studied when I was at college back in the early 1970s. Funny how what goes around… etc, etc. I was, frankly, not expecting to enjoy teaching this course. Naturally I find myself doing so quite considerably. Sigh!
As for the year ahead… We are taking the opportunity of the College’s ‘reading week’ in February to run away to Mexico for a little sunshine, rest and relaxation. We are going to Zihuatanejo – which name will resonate with fans of ‘The Shawshank Redemption‘ (and which was, of course, actually filmed elsewhere).
No major trips this year but we will probably head for the interior of BC. It has been a while since we visited folk there and one such is undoubtedly due. We are also hoping that we will be entertaining more visitors from the UK during the summer. The more the merrier as far as we are concerned.
One lesson that we have had to re-learn of late is that all good things take longer to effect than one might expect. The Girl’s new enterprise is slowly gathering momentum, but we constantly underestimate how much effort is involved in getting anything this significant off the ground.
I will certainly be aiming to indulge my creative propensities in matters musical this year. Having reached a small milestone in getting some tracks online last autumn the Chanteuse and I had intended to finish off that collection of songs and move on from there. Our efforts have been delayed by a sad and most unfortunate run of family setbacks on her part. Hopefully having the chance to get back to some music-making whenever it becomes possible will do a tiny bit to help normalise things for her.
However the year turns out (and we are expecting it to be a good one) we know that we live a blessed life and that our primary response should be – as ever – much gratitude.
As for the rest of the world?… Sadly – who can tell?
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