Not very poetic, lacks inspiration and certainly not the way to begin a blog focusing on the new year. But as I sit here and reflect on 2016 and look forward to 2017, I feel like a child choosing the very best one using a method as simple as a nursey rhyme. If you would have told me 365 days ago that my life would look like it does today I would have told you to put away the tarot cards and get a grip on reality. But the more I reflect on the past 12 months the more it seems like it was written in the stars all along.
Rereading the past January posts I discovered that in true Pollyanna spirit I give the new year the full benefit of the doubt. Anything is possible. Blogs filled with messages of change, reflection, experience, and creation The world is my oyster. And 2017 seems to be no exception to the rule.
But this new year brings with it something that I have never experienced before. It marks my 50th journey around the sun. That alone causes one to stop and reflect, who begins a new project at this age? Being in the classroom for fourteen years, I have watched countless bright eyed, hopeful, smart as hell twenty somethings go out and set the world on fire. Why am I so confident, is it just my crazy free will or is there actual proof that one can achieve greatness at any age? So to the internet I journey for some proof and inspiration.
At 49 Julia Child published her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Not only do I love that cookbook, I must begin writing my best seller.
Ronald Reagan switched careers and was elected to his first public office at the age of 55. No political aspirations in my future, but Reagan was a quint essential human being with classic quotes, wisdom and an all-around intelligent goodness that is missing in today’s political environment.
In 1947 Christian Dior introduced the “New Look” and changed the way women dressed forever. This fashion moment caused my style icon to come out of a 15 year hiatus at the age of 70 and reintroduce the world to the House of Chanel. Establishing a timeless look that is continued today under the direction of the very youthful 83 year old Karl Lagerfeld.
And lastly, it was a woman of the age of forty-seven who was the brave soul to take on the construction of a lifetime and help a fifty-six year old man start to construct “the ranch”. Better known to all as Hearst Castle, they spent the next twenty-eight years building the “La Cuesta Encantada” or “The Enchanted Hill”.
For once I don’t know what the next year holds for me. It is a blank canvas nestled in a new land and my bag is full of fresh art supplies. What I hope is to write more (I know I proclaim this annually), worry less, stay in the moment and above all color my new surroundings in vibrant memories and growing experiences. And twenty years from now, if I come close to Coco Chanel or Julia Morgan, well that will be very delightful indeed.
“Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.’ And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.” – Ronald Reagan
a little bit about a lot of things 
and with all that being said…… It is my hope you find a little inspiration with the tiny gift I gave you. you can do it, it is just a matter of when you will do it.