My new normal plus a few more swear words…

Image by Laura Dickens

With the blink of an eye, 2018 is almost upon us and more than with any other shifting of the calendar, it has set me to thinking.

Yep, he certainly is.

2017, on so many levels, was revolting.  Political leaders and processes around the world became bitterly disappointing as the year progressed.  Acts of terror continued to increase with the media’s reporting of them very often bordering on outright racism.  In Australia our education system has proven to be broken (think Naplan) and Health and the Arts continue to suffer cruel budgetary cuts. The #metoo campaign has unleashed a (necessary) tsunami of women finally having the courage to come forward and report sexual misconduct but I fear for where it will all end.  As the mother of a son, I worry that we will emasculate the next generation of men unless we are very careful.

Of course there is still much joy in the world but I feel there has been a collective (global) shrugging of shoulders and a bunkering down which finds most people looking after their own needs rather than continuing to seek a way of always helping others. Further, and probably most depressing to me is that no government leader (anywhere in the world) is providing a cogent or compelling narrative on how to progress through the mire. In short we have forgotten how to be compassionate, balanced, intelligent or cohesive and our leaders seemingly display the antithesis of these traits.

Two of my favourite things.

When I set up this blog in 2009 (first post here), my intention was to give myself a vehicle to write about my passions.  I never really thought about garnering an audience or monetising the blog.  I loved (and still do) being author, editor and publisher. Blogging at that time was still relatively new and a very interesting phenomenon to be a part of, but I simply wanted a place where I could babble on about helping kids (and parents) to find wonder in all they did.  To write about the importance of staying connected to nature and the outdoors.  To show parents how easy (and important) it is to allow their children to experience huge slabs of free play.  I wanted to encourage less structure in their lives and more spontaneous fun.  Also back in 2009, some friends and I set up the #playoutdoors hashtag which is still going strong today.  It has become a place where people share tips and advice on the benefits of being outside including keeping a balance between technology and real life.  It is tremendously satisfying to see it still in play (forgive the pun).

Whilst I will always be addicted to nature and outdoors and will continue to occasionally write about it, my children are now 15 and 16 and would rather stick pins in their eyes than make a daisy chain or a leaf stencil.  I am knee deep in the world of teens and all the bewildering issues that come with it.  I am also suffering from a severe case of Trumpitis so I find myself wanting to write about other things.  The mundanity and idiocy of everyday life, politics, travel, the relentlessness of parenting and sometimes, how boring as f**k everyday life can be and how we are all a bit too scared to admit to being bored.  Boredom can be good ~ from it great creativity can ensue.

Photography will feature and I will try really hard to tackle and temper some weighty issues with humour.  I will continue to look for joy and wonder in all that I do.  I found it briefly when discovering that the new Doctor Who will be played by Jodie Whittaker ~ happy days.  My language will become more colourful but my photos and food recipes will make it worth it.

Forget 42, love is always the answer.

So there you have it.  You are hereby warned that this is my new normal.  I hope you’ll continue to stay with me ~ it will be such fun I promise…

Have your passions shifted recently?  What are you doing to keep up?

Until next time…