My dog Lady has an excuse for being ignorant of what is going on around her. Despite having 17 identifiable breeds in her DNA, my mutt struggles to recognize the command “speak” — forget inconvenient commands like “come,” which mostly works at home unless she sights a squirrel, and seldom works at the dog park until she is exhausted. But Lady aside, the rest of us should probably pause more often to place ourselves firmly in time and space.
Reader, are you having fun yet? Do you like how you are spending your time? Or do you miss old friends? Maybe you miss favorite places and activities that you somehow never manage to fit into the week? Wonder why it’s been so long since you last made chocolate chip cookies, clam chowder or blueberry pie? People have become so crazy busy today that hours disappear one by one, the hours becoming days, days becoming weeks, weeks becoming years and voilá! We’ve crossed the bridge into 2026.
If that last paragraph resonates with you, reader, I’d like to suggest you grab your laptop or just a pen and paper. Write down the people you want to see or at least call. Make a list of pursuits and projects you want to somehow stuff into 2026. While this approach does not always work, writing desires down and then putting those plans in plain sight does help many people to focus. You might tape your list inside a cupboard, put it under a refrigerator magnet or just leave it on a desk. Whatever works for you.
Because regular reminders can change how a day unfolds. Each day is one of the bricks in our individual timelines — and one more chance to make tomorrow better.
