Hello, dear readers! Here we are, the last day of 2020, a year that has been… *gestures vaguely*…something.

Last Monday, on the Winter Solstice, I did a little looking back on the past year, on the goals that I set at the beginning of 2020, at how much progress I made (or didn’t) on those goals, despite (or because of ) everything 2020 threw at me. I made a similar post last year, so let’s follow that same format and take a minute to glance backward and look ahead, shall well?

Goals I had at the beginning of the year, and progress on those goals:

• Write. Songs, yes, but also other things, poems and short stories and maybe even games.
  • I wrote 42 songs, including one spoken word piece and something for every card in the Major Arcana of a tarot deck. I did not write poems or short stories. I started noodling around with writing a game, got overwhelmed, and set it aside.
• Read more, especially poetry and other things that inspire me.
  • I didn’t read more – I read 13 books, contrasted with last year’s 23. But I did read more Mary Oliver poetry, which was an excellent choice.
• Make music often, as close to every day as possible.
  • I did not make music as close to every day as possible. But I still made music, and in a year that tried to totally derail everything, I’m calling that at least a partial win.
• Do the work, in therapy and on my own, to be an adult that my inner child can be proud of.
  • This is lifelong work, but I have done a lot of work in this arena!
• Take care of my body and my brain and my spirit.
  • This hasn’t been a resounding success, but…you know what? Fuck it. Given everything that 2020 was, yes, this was a success. I got myself medical care when I needed it, I have a better awareness of what I need to do to take better care of my body, I’ve continued therapy, I’ve found ways to learn and grow despite *gestures wildly at the year*.
• Follow through on the plan to have my credit card paid off in June.
  • I did this! I had it paid off in May, actually. This was a very big deal.
• Create more routine and space for ritual in my life.
  • I often feel like I have failed at this, but in reality I have established some important routines and rituals this year. They just don’t look like I thought they would a year ago.
• Get a new, better-paying job.
  • I didn’t post this one on the blog last year, because I knew some of my coworkers read the blog and I didn’t want to cause unnecessary alarm. But I did this! I started my new job in March, four days before we went into lockdown, and it came with an approximately 60% salary increase. I am so much happier where I am now (which is not to say I don’t miss my old coworkers, but this job is a much better fit for me).

Other things that happened:

• Took a mountain dulcimer class, a couple of mandolin classes, three songwriting classes, and a handful of songwriting workshops.
• Tried Tai Chi (for a couple of months, in the Before Times).
• Cowrote a song with someone I met on the internet. Also cowrote with my partner.
• Bought a gorgeous new octave mandolin that I’m absolutely in love with.
• Got married!
• Hosted write-alongs for Song School friends the week that Song School would have happened.
• Performed with my partner at a virtual open mic.
• Decided to take an indefinite break from Facebook.
• Bought a Nintendo Switch Lite and played many hours of Stardew Valley.
• Played a lot of D&D along with a handful of other delightful games.
• Established a number of (virtual) social routines.

Goals for 2021:

• Keep writing.
• “Yes, and…” opportunities at work.
• Keep investing in the communities and relationships that allow me to thrive.
• Try to internalize the notion that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be good or valuable.
• Keep doing the work to be an adult that my past selves can be proud of.

May 2021 be a gentler year than 2020 was. May we keep finding reasons to hope. And may the lessons 2020 brought us not need to be repeated.