The coming year is more about setting intentions. One of the reasons I list them here is to remind myself of things I want to accomplish and to look back and see how things progress (or regress) over the year.

I turn 50 this summer. It makes me cringe to think about that number. For the past 10 years I have planned a trip or planned something amazing for my birthday. This year I can't even wrap my head around this milestone, let alone figure out what I want to do. I really just would like to have to people most important to me around so whatever that looks like in 7 months we shall see.

I want to keep traveling. I have 3 trips planned already and a fourth one in the works. Three of the 4 are just short weekend trips but they are all going to bring peace to my soul.

My long distance running days are behind me now. I was training for another half marathon this past fall but I got Covid and I have not been able to gain my energy and desire to start back up again. I just want to slow it down, get back into 5k and 10ks and just keep active.

Hiking is always a goal. I need to spend time outdoors and I am looking forward to seeing places through the eyes of my husband and his drone. Photography is my obsession and now I get to share that passion with my closest comrade.

I hope to successfully release my baby squirrel in the spring. We are over wintering him and I hope that he doesn't become too domesticated in the process. This will be my second baby squirrel rehab. As much as I love the little booger he needs to be out with his kind, for both of our sake!

I would like to continue helping the wildlife around my property thrive.

I am still very much into my plants. My goal is to create a little tropical oasis with my banana trees, Sago palms and hopefully keep my lemon and lime trees alive through the winter. I would like to grow some vegetables but with all the critters I am not sure how much produce I will actually produce so mainly I am planting things for the critters and hope I get to sample something in between.

I started pressing flowers when my brother passed. There were so many beautiful arrangements at his funeral. I pulled a few off of each and saved them to do something with as a keepsake. I ended up pressing them and making sun prints and lanterns out of them. Now I am hooked! I started picking flowers or saving interesting leaves on my hikes both near and far and pressing them and keeping them in a book with labels and dates. It allows me to bring a little beauty home without spending money. I look forward to seeing how this collection grows over the next year and what other ways I find to collect, display and share this new hobby.

I have other things I hope to accomplish and many fears as the new year looms but mostly I just want to find peace, however or whatever that looks like.

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,

and never thought upon;

The flames of Love extinguished,

and fully past and gone:

Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,

that loving Breast of thine;

That thou canst never once reflect

On old lang syne?