Turning the Page

Posted byKathleen Cassen MickelsonPosted inseasonalTags:,

As I write this, winter fog curls around last summer’s flower stalks still standing in our back yard. Lights from our Christmas tree reflect on the wood floor. More holiday lights send rays into the evening dusk outside our front door. Gifts have been exchanged, meals shared, glasses raised with family and friends.

This is the quiet before the explosion of New Year’s Eve, but by the time you read this it will already be New Year’s Day. I’ll be waking up in Red Wing, Minnesota, after my partner Mick’s band plays a New Year’s Eve gig at the Red Wing Barrel House, the first bar established in Minnesota. We’ve reserved a room in the St. James Hotel, which was established in 1875. We’ll be steeped in history as we ring in 2025. New Year’s Day will see us having our first breakfast of the year with old friends (and fellow band members), then taking a leisurely drive back home along rural Minnesota roads oddly devoid of snow. Perhaps snow will arrive later in the week.

Once we return home, we’ll turn our attention to what this new year offers us. We will also be thinking about what we can offer in return. Is it more time volunteering? Togetherness with family and friends? Time spent outside? We do have plans – continuing to help with childcare for our granddaughters, expanding our native plant garden to support more pollinators, travel with friends, and welcoming a puppy into our home.

Sometimes the best things that happen are the ones we don’t plan, the ones we don’t see coming. I’m sure there will be surprises that will force me out of my own complacency. Some of them may not be happy, but exercising resilience is a valuable practice.

Whatever 2025 brings, there will be opportunities to share what we have, whether it’s our time, food, joy, an ear to listen, or something else. This kind of focus is what I’d like to hold front and center as we enter into a new era in this country. I can’t think of a better way to deal with the changes that we know are coming.

Happy New Year to you all. Peace.

photo by kcmickelson

Published by Kathleen Cassen Mickelson

Kathleen Cassen Mickelson is a Minnesota-based writer who has published work in journals in the US, UK, and Canada. She is the author of the poetry chapbook How We Learned to Shut Our Own Mouths (Gyroscope Press, 2021) and co-author of the poetry collection Prayer Gardening (Kelsay Books, 2023).

7 thoughts on “Turning the Page”

  2. Thinking about “what we can offer in return” seems a great way to begin 2025. I’ve found that anytime I volunteer or support others, I get back way more than I give.

    Like you, I have deep concerns about what lies ahead beginning on January 20.

    Here’s to making the best of the year ahead, Kathleen. Happy New Year!

    Like

  3. “. . . exercising resilience is a valuable practice.” Amen, Kathleen. It’s how we’ve made it thus far! Happy New Year. May love, laughter, peace, and joy touch you each day.

    xoAnnis

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.