My Resolution

Mountain Morning

Every year sometime toward the end of September I have a little ritual. It involves me, a crisp autumn morning, my favorite mountain park, and my journal.

I come here to reflect over the year, and to think about the future.

Some years I have big decisions to make, and I seek this park for the peace and quiet it offers--a chance to get away from my computer and cell phone and just listen to my heart.

And listen to the rushing mountain river, too.

This year I didn't have decisions to make, per se, or even big goals to set for the future. Mainly I just sat in the sun and rested.

I thought about what I've journeyed through over the past 12 months or so, and where I'm headed.

And I'm not sure if it was the beauty of the scenery, or the fresh quality to the mountain air, but up in that canyon I had the wonderful sense of new beginnings, like a turning of the season. A clean slate. A clear morning.

Needless to say, it was a good way to start the day.

What introspective insights do you have this fall? Share your comments below, or email me at shillberry@stephaniehillberry.com.

How un-New-Year-ish...

As you all know, the new year is just around the corner.  Now, normally I do tend to be a "resolution" type of person.  I like when a new season starts, and I especially like to get out my journal and write down some goals and wonder in general what the year will bring.

This year, however, I decided to reset my calendar a bit and choose the start of Fall as my "resolution time."  It just seemed like a better time of year to be focused, rather than the cold and dark and windy month of January.  And so the coming holiday doesn't quite have the same "starting fresh" luster as before.  Rather than plunging ambitiously ahead, armed with to-do's and lists, I actually feel more like nestling in with my books and my blankets and my knitting needles.

This feeling is what is inspiring me to start a new series here called "Nesting."  After a long Fall and a busy holiday season, I just want to spend the next two months dwelling on coziness and home.  Altruistic it certainly is not--I guess I'll have to save my altruism for sunnier days.  For now, my plan is to get my "nest" in comfortable order, and do what the animals do: hunker down and enjoy the warmth until Spring arrives.  I plan to bake bread and cook hearty meals and drink lots of tea.  I plan to bury myself in design projects, like making quilted throws and pillows and engraved bud bases to hold the first flowers of spring.  Yes...I'll probably do some organizing and revisit my "backwards budget," but all in the name of "securing my nest," of course.

I know that this "nesting" list is decidedly un-New-Year-ish, but I tend to deviate from the norm, so that's to be expected.  Besides, wouldn't you rather snuggle down than adopt harsh dieting rules or a serious exercise regime?  

Of course, I will inaugurate this new season with one traditional New Year's gesture: champagne (I love the bubbly--so sparkly and pretty).  Won't you join me in toasting to Nesting this winter?