Seasonal traditions: The annual migration of memories

by Bruce Brierley
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We are approaching the final quarter of 2024. Nine months have passed since you made New Year’s Resolutions or wrote that list of goals and projects, but you still have time to cross off those last few things on your list. I wrote about this final quarter towards the end of last year and it really helped light a fire under my seat. This is both a reflective practice as well as a call to action. Look at your list and admire how much you have accomplished, but then look at what is left—are those goals still as applicable today as they were when you wrote them? If not, scratch them off or move them to next year’s list. But you still have 90 days to finish up one more project on your list—what will it be? I absolutely love fall, probably because you never know when it actually starts and once you finally realize that it’s here, it’s nearly gone. The -ber months always fly by so quickly, and the older I get, the faster it feels they disappear. There’s a reason I do my Christmas prep extra early and start thinking about winterizing about mid-summer—because I know how quickly those deadlines approach us and I don’t want to be caught unprepared doing last minute shopping or panic cleaning. I like to keep to my girl scout motto—be prepared. Most of the goals and projects I set out to do at the beginning of the year have been completed. There are a couple that have shifted or been replaced with other projects. And in full disclosure, some of the things on my New Year’s list are immeasurable, but just setting my heart on a good track, like “prioritize sewing” and “read more” and I’m okay with that. They don’t all have to be checked off, but I can look back at my year and say, “yes, I did prioritize sewing more this year than last, but I did not read more books, so maybe I can work on that again next year.” House projects have been getting checked off slowly but surely. We did so much last fall before moving into our new house that I think we burnt ourselves out on projects for a while, even though I’ve been driving my husband crazy with my ideas for how I’m going to change each room… someday. Our goal before the end of the year is to finish any started house projects, especially ones that have all the supplies purchased already. And chickens were not exactly on our radar for this year, but here we are with seven chickens (bless my husband) who need a bigger, better coop before winter, so that new structure is on its way up. As I look at my year’s list of projects, goals and ideas, there are just a couple I’d like to focus on in this last quarter of 2024. I’m starting to read a little more instead of doom scrolling (more on that later), and my latest book, Wintering, talks about the preparations made before the snow flies. How our internal clocks change with the shortening of days and a quiet, restful calm can be found in the season. “We may never choose to winter, but we can choose how.” How will you spend these last 90 days of the year? Are you preparing for winter and Christmas? Do you have one last project left to see through to the end? Email me at andrea.borsvold@gmail.com and tell me what’s left on your list. I’d love to cheer you on as we close out this year together.
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