All aboard!

“The train now leaving platform 2021 is the 2022 bound for …”

Bound for where?  Where are we going?  The calendar stretches out before us and as we move into a new year, that delicious moment of infinite possibilities envelops me.  All of the goal-setting books tell me I need to know where I want to be before I can get there, but just for a minute or two, I like to stand and look out at all that empty space and imagine that light as a feather, I could be blown anywhere that I was meant to be.

It’s all part of the magic of Christmas and New Year, of course.  We can’t always live our lives just waiting to see where we end up, but leaving the itinerary flexible enough to allow a few detours sometimes takes us in unexpected and wonderful directions.

A lot people have wished me a “better year” for 2022, and I know that this year, like 2020 before it, hasn’t been brilliant for everybody, but I’m not going to pretend that 2021 wasn’t a good year for me.  Yes, there were times when I wanted to hide under the duvet until whatever it was went away; times of loss, anxiety and more hormone-induced nonsense in my head than I have ever experienced, but I always knew that these times would pass and that I needed them there to remind me of all the good stuff.

The good stuff like being able to talk to you through the blog, being able to share patterns and help people learn to knit their first pairs of socks.  Launching my second Winwick Mum Collection of yarn and patterns – Seasons – with West Yorkshire Spinners, being asked to design their Christmas sock pattern once again, and being part of their fabulous collaboration with Dame Zandra Rhodes.  Stepping out in front of TV cameras and realising that it was more scary in my head than in real life.  Moving my blog to a new platform … now that wasn’t a fun time but I am happier here than ever before – and I think it’s easier to chat to you through the comments now too.  Full circle.

And the good stuff like being grateful for my own good health and that of my family.  For seeing the sun rise and set every day, and the moon shine bright in the sky.  For feeling the sun on my face and watching snowflakes fall gently down from the sky.  For being out in all weathers with a dog that reminds me to breathe fresh air and appreciate nature.  For spending time with family and friends despite lockdowns thanks to technology and telephones.  There are a million things for me to be thankful for in 2021.

If 2021 wasn’t a good year for you then I do wish you a better year, full of hope, joy and the happiest moments of your own.  And why shouldn’t it be?  We are all entitled to be happy, even if we don’t feel like that all the time!  Happy New Year!

The train now leaving platform 2021 is bound for … where shall we go?  What adventures shall we have?  What new things shall we learn?  Those carriages are filled with the marvellous unknown (with maybe just one carriage reserved for sad times because as much as I’d like to,I know we can’t travel without them) and I can’t wait to see where we’re going.

I step off the platform into 2022.

Are you coming?

British Railways (ex-LMS) Jubilee class no. 45596 ‘Bahamas’   Source: https://ingrowlocomuseum.com/

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