One of the attributes of annual events is that we have another chance to get it right. New Year's Eve marks the milestone we pass on the way from 2014 to 2015, and is the occasion for sweeping self evaluation. Our physical well being, our relationships, our eating habits all fall under scrutiny as the orange ball drops in Time Square. 

I keep journals of my everyday goals, and a quick overview might suggest that I am stuck.  The same tasks appear repeatedly. 

Clean the bathrooms

Sandwich the quilt

Preschool project

Laundry

But repetition implies persistence, and a refusal to give up. Plus every time I finish another quilt my skills go up like a flight of stairs. The stained glass quilts I created this year surpassed the Irish Chains I made in the nineties. The clothes that got washed today are not a remedy for poorly washed clothes last week. It is simply that I lived messily in the interim. 

John and I had a prickly interchange this week. There is a problem that I have been trying to squeeze into the Acceptable Jar that no longer fits. He listened while I ranted and cried. It was hard for him, but he resisted the urge to slide down the banister. 

Next Christmas we will revisit the issue with a higher perspective, and compassion that comes from putting one tired foot in front of another. 

I welcome the chance to look back, and forward, at the climb that is life on this planet.