Dear December Liv OR; Small Things to Make 2021 a Good Year

Dear December 2021 Liv,

Do you remember the calendar you bought for 2020? It was September of 2019 and you were visiting a friend in Grand Marais, gallivanting about the breathtaking North Shore in Minnesota. Whilst perusing that endearing little Drury Lane Books store, you happened upon this collection of images of the place you loved–Lake Superior. What better way to get to see so many portraits of that stunning landscape every day than with a wall calendar? And you knew you needed a better way to display your craft show dates and times–it was perfect!

But you never wrote down a single craft show. You never wrote down any important reminders. Because just months after you purchased that calendar in hopes of a bright new year, 2020 took a massive dump on everyone’s head. And nothing good ever happened again.

At least, that’s where I’m at, my lil’ ol’ January 2021 Liv self, sitting with my fingers futilely tapping at computer keys. Right now, the prospects are dim, dull, muted, melancholy…. Here at the terminus of the year, the Worst Year Ever, with my health at risk and my family torn in twain, there seems no cause for celebration and no reason to be celebratory in the foreseeable future. It’s hard to be optimistic when only the worst has happened for the past nine months.

But take a look at your wall calendar now, December 2021 Liv. Do you remember buying it? No, you don’t, because you didn’t buy it. It was free at the farm store–just sitting there on the counter, a glossy portfolio of beautiful horses. We never planned to put any important dates in it. I don’t think I even planned to do anything with it other than pin it up where the last calendar had hung. But maybe, when you’re not hoping, not planning, not expecting the future to be this, that, or the other, the future becomes worthwhile.

So what did you put in that calendar for 2021? I can’t say what you really did this year, but I’d like to make a guess or a few:

~You got a COVID-19 vaccine (let’s start with the obvious, yes?).

~You learned how to make a special kind of mitten (this one’s easy to guess because it was a Christmas gift and the Zoom class starts next week).

~You wrote more and didn’t care what anyone thought about it; you wrote for yourself.

~You grew your own yarn fiber on the farm… or a farm… or your backyard… or back closet–this is really the hard one to guess!

~You went to a few craft shows and sold some of your hand knit winter gear and hand spun yarn–yay!

~You treated yourself to a massage, which you’ve needed since April 2020.

I hate to be optimistic, because to me optimism just sets you up for disappointment, but even in the darkest gloom, there is a spark. It’s usually something small, but it’s really the small things that matter the most.

So here’s hoping this letter to you, would-be December 2021 Liv, finds you at least better than last year. I hope everyone is well at the end of 2021 in some way or another. We all deserve a break after… that….

With love,

January 2021 Liv

P.S., Dear Vocal Readers…

I know this “article” seems a good deal self-serving–it is an exercise in writing a letter to one’s future self. But I do hope you got something out of it for yourself, particularly a few important ways you can try and make something good come from your 2021, points I would like to elaborate on now….

~Get a COVID-19 vaccine. It’s just good for everyone.

~Take the time to learn something. You don’t have to earn your master’s in physics or anything, just learn something. It’s easy–we accidentally learn stuff all the time. It can be as simple as reading an article about a topic you’re interested in. It will enrich your life no matter the scale.

~Do something you love for yourself. Even if you’ve gotten criticism for that thing before, even if you get criticism for that thing now or in the future, forget everyone else and do that thing for you.

~Grow something. It can be one of those cute little succulents everyone is going wild about, or it can be yourself. Take some time to consider what needs to develop in your life and nurture it.

~Do something fun that makes you feel empowered. Climb a mountain if you want, or find a craft you’re good at–just something that gives you pride in yourself.

~Last but not least; treat yourself. “Self care” is the buzz phrase going around, but it’s not just massages and facials: it’s eating something you like for dinner; it’s taking a moment to listen to music that rejuvenates you; it’s washing your favorite blanket so you can snuggle up under fresh-out-of-the-drier coziness at the end of your long, exhausting day. But it can totally also be massages and facials and all that spa stuff, too. And whatever it is, you deserve it after the year we’ve had.

If that seems like a lot, don’t stress; you have a whole year to get around to doing any of these things–big, small, medium, or otherwise. You don’t have to do all of them, or any of them, but you may find you do some of them entirely by accident. Give a few of these ideas a shot–they can be anything you want them to be.

And hopefully we get to apply that very philosophy to our new year; we’ll give 2021 a shot and it will be anything we want it to be.