One Little Word: August 2020

Unbelievably, we've arrived at the last Tuesday of the month again, so it's time to join up with Honoré at Morning Glory Studio to reflect on my word for the year -- SAVOR -- and how it's been showing up in the past month. Last month was all about the reading. This month, it seems to be about writing. Specifically, it's about my daily journaling and about interacting with those of you I've come to think of as Blog Friends.

There was a time in my life (mainly when I was an angst-filled teenager and in my early 20s) when my journal was a regular part of my life. I didn't write every day, but it was a normal practice for me to set aside an hour or so every few days or a couple of times a week to pour out my thoughts and feelings to my journal. As part of joining in on the One Little Word group this year, I decided to start keeping a journal again, and in the smaller black notebook in the photo above, you'd find that on January 1 of this year, I started the practice with an optimistic entry about how I was going to do it. But in reality, that entry was the only entry for a couple of months -- and then the pandemic hit. I didn't realize it at the time, but I revived my journaling practice at a perfect time. Midway through March, when it became clear that staying at home was going to be a long-term thing, I wrote in my journal again, and by the end of the month, it had become a nearly daily practice. I've missed a few days here and there, but for the most part I am spending some time each evening before getting into bed looking back on the day and, at a minimum, making note of three things I accomplished and five things that brought me some joy. I haven't given myself any restrictions or expectations with regard to what I write about; the important thing has just been to write, and I have been so thankful for the time I've given myself to do just that. Earlier this month, I filled the first notebook and moved onto the larger Moleskine notebook (which I shamelessly stole from the Mister -- he's got a stack of notebooks he's acquired from various conferences and events over the years and hasn't even noticed that I took this one even though I write in it every night right in front of him). The larger pages in this notebook are lined, unlike my previous one, so I think that's prompted me to write more, which in turn has been better for my state of mind because I'm working out my frustrations and anxieties on the page.

The other thing I've been really savoring this month has been my connection with the wonderful community of crafters and bloggers I've come to know the past several years and especially this year. As someone who has long struggled to make new friends as an adult, it means so much to be able to connect with others who share some of my interests and pastimes -- and thanks to the wonders of technology, we're able to discuss and share them in real time! The weekly Zoom meet-up that Mary has been hosting has been one of the anchors of my week and has truly been a blessing during these strange times. Were it not for this pandemic and being forced to conduct so much of our lives online, I doubt I would have ever "met" or interacted with some of the individuals I now think of as friends. And I've likewise been really savoring the interactions I've been able to have through reading and commenting on blogs. Many of you chimed in a couple of weeks ago when I asked about how you reply to comments, and so going forward I'm taking a hybrid approach. I get all blog comments sent to me by email, so for those of you whose email address I have, I'll reply that way, and for those whose email addresses I don't have, I'll reply to your original comment on the blog itself. The dialogue around the blog has been so good and such a great way to stay connected with others outside of my immediate sphere, so I want to encourage it in any way I can.

That's all from me to day -- I have some staycationing to do! -- but I'll be back tomorrow with a reading and knitting update. I hope you're doing well, and I look forward to hearing about how your One Little Word has been appearing in your life this past month.