Three Words for 2023

Happy 2023!

Is it 2024 yet? Let’s not go there. At least not today.

I don’t do resolutions. Oh sure, there are things I want to work on and during tomorrow’s parade I’ll be addressing that list.

Why not today? Well, there’s one more night for Santa at the amusement park.

A few years back, I switched from my annual More or Less post to choosing three words for the year.

The Write Side Shop

This was at the inspiration of Chris Brogan and Rob Hatch who still post their three words annually.

For 2022, my words were Recover, Read, Rise.

I did a good bit of recovering. I’m stronger, and lighter than I was on this day a year ago. Were it not for the summer bout with COVID, I might even be further along. But the Late Great Unpleasantness™ of 2021 is behind me. So to speak.

I did a good bit of reading. Not always books, so don’t judge me by my Goodreads list. I didn’t make that goal. The plan is to just keep reading. Early and often.

I hope that I rose to most occasions. I did manage in the process to write, illustrate, and publish three children’s books. More are coming in 2023.

But, without further delay, my three words for 2023.

PRAY

I believe in the power of prayer. I believe it’s a necessary and benetifical communication with our Heavenly Father.

You only have to check out the news, or social media, or heck, check out at the grocery store, to understand that we’re in some difficult times. I believe prayer is necessary to get us through these times. I”m not sure we’re promised that times will get better. But I do know that times of revival and renewal have always come about through prayer.

I believe that, while prayer may not always change circumstances, it will most assuredly always change me.

I also know that I fail at this daily. So in 2023, I want to make prayer a daily focus.

PREPARE

I mentioned above that I’ll be going over my project lists tomorrow. I already know I won’t get to everything on the list. And that’s okay. But I want to prepare for the year ahead. I want to prepare for the unexpected. Because life is always unexpected.

I can’t plan for calamity not to happen. But I can put myself in a better position to deal with that when the disruptions come.

No, I don’t know exactly how all that will play out. Most likely I’ll be back here a year from now telling you how nothing went as planned. It will take some thought.

And definitely some prayer (see above).

PLAY

Truth is, my family and I haven’t had a lot of time to play in the last few years. We had the pandemic, we had last year’s Late Great Unpleasantness™, and a few other challenges.

While we know the challenges will come again this year. I want to be more purposeful about takign time to enjoy life. To go to the beach. To go the mountains. To join a pool for the summer. There’s a list.

But the point is to not always be looking for what lies ahead, but to live in, and enjoy, the moment. More on this as we go along.

So, there you have it. My three words for 2023.

PRAY. PREPARE. PLAY.

I’ll check in ever couple of months to let you know how things are going.

Happy 2023!

I’m Not Writing a Year-End Review

Don’t get me wrong. I started one. I was not impressed.

I’ve always said that Dave Barry writes the best year-end reviews anyway.

It’s the last Friday of the year and I’m writing this today only because I don’t want to post on a Saturday.

My show at Kings Dominion ends on Sunday night. A much better ending than last year’s tragic early closing thanks to COVID.

Like I said, I started the review. I started going back through blog posts from the year. Not a stellar year for blog writing. But some other things happened.

We took our beach week for spring break and spent seven glorious days watching the ocean from the comfort of the living room.

In July, my office declared a return to work. So I went back for three days in, two days out plan.

After two and a half years of teleworking, I returned to the office and got COVID.

The worst of that was over in a couple of days. The fatigue and shortness of breath lingered.

In October, I was back on stage with River City Community Players and their production of Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

And, in early November I returned to Kings Dominion as Santa in Tinkers Toy Factory…the show that’s closing on Sunday.

The biggest news of all is that I published three new children’s books. I might have mentioned that. They’re available on Amazon. And I’ll be participating in my first book festival in early February.

You know the rest of what happened in 2022.

Usually I spend the time between Christmas and New Years working plans and project ideas for the coming year. I’ve done some of that. But I’ve also just tried to get through the week fighting off a cold while still performing every night.

And no, I didn’t get to the leaves like I’d planned.

As I wrote last year, once magical night isn’t going to make everything all better.

But we’ll take it one day at time.

Monday, I’ll post my Three Words for 2023. I know it’s technically the second day of the year, but if the Tournament of Roses can do it, so can I.

I’m not sure where this blog is going in 2023. Even if I had a plan, plans change. But I’ll be here…until I’m not.

Let’s say a farewell to 2022.

Celebrate responsibly.

I’ll see you in the New Year.