Yay 2019! (also a 2018 recap)

Right. So. New year. I've been thinking about this post off and on for about a month and I have to admit that I'm still not sure how it is going to come out. Life has a way of shifting on ya. In fact, change being a gradual process and all, it is possible to change as a person and not really notice until some sort of watershed moment. I suppose I've been "watershedded". The problem is that I still haven't quite sorted out what it all means.

Here's what I know:

1. I'm an excellent cook. I'm actually really good for a home cook. I'm not a chef by any means, but I've come to realize that a lot of the differences between a home cook and a chef are logistical in nature. I have no idea how to run a big kitchen and I get twitchy having other people in my cooking space. In terms of flavor, I can absolutely produce professional quality meal...on the small scale. In terms of food and cooking knowledge, I can hang with most chefs - by which I mean, I wouldn't embarrass myself.
2. My love of books is really a love of story. This one isn't a big shocker really, but it's a little bit of a refining detail. I love a good story. Really I do. Most of the best stories are in books. Hence, I love books. However, I'm a sucker for a good story no matter the medium and the more I read/consume them, the more I have the urge to create.
3. I should write. I should write all the time. I should write without restraint or concern for audience. I just should. I tried not writing for about two months. It made me miserable and twitchy. So either it is write or go back into therapy. Writing is cheaper...and more satisfying.
4. My blog has a readership split. Most of my readers are family and they are more interested in the posts like this one - the personal ones. That being said, my heart is in my book oriented posts and I get...sad...when they are skipped. I mean I get it, really I do, my book mania is not interesting to everyone. I have a plan. Explained below.
5. Ok. Teaching. So, here's the thing and not everyone gets this - teaching is the hardest and most wonderful thing I do with my life. I get frustrated, worn down, and wrung out. In moments of exhaustion and despair, I think about quitting, and maybe some day I will. BUT, the other side of it is that all teachers spend their lives ensuring a future for us all. Every single teacher I know feels tired, worn out, and wrung out. Teaching is a demanding profession but it is as necessary as, and perhaps more so, than any other. Without teachers, there could be no innovators, no doctors, no engineers, no whatever it is out there. Most of the issues I have with people don't come down to basic intelligence, it comes down to education. I spend my life knowing I make a difference in the future....even if it is unmeasurable, so don't ask me to quit or find a different path. What I do, even if it isn't forever, is worth it. If intelligent talented people won't take on the burden, who would you all prefer be in charge of our future?  One good teacher positively affects hundreds of children every year.
6. It really feels like we are living in a time when the margin for error is shrinking-as a species. I feel like the choices and actions we take now are becoming more and more critical. It is easy to think that individuals have no power to effect change, but change is really just a bunch of individuals moving in the same direction. I feel a growing need to be part of that change. I don't know what that means yet in a practical sense but it is on my mind.

Ok, so moving into the next year, the big news is that I've split my blog. All the personal posts will stay here. All book related posts will be moving to my new blog: https://tsundokulife.blogspot.com/ . I will do weekly or bi weekly summaries here of what is in by book blog, but otherwise this is a more or less book free zone.

I still have a reading goal but you'll have to go over to the other blog to check it out :-P In terms of other goals, the big one for 2019 is the garden/yard. I really want to finish turning the front yard into a mini-urban farm. Thomas is at an age where he is interested in it and he and I are going to work on his very own box. I'd also like to clear the backyard of invasive nonsense and start planning the shade garden. I will be enlisting help because the clearing alone is going to be a process.

So that's it for now. I love you guys, even those of you I've never met. I hope you all will check in on the new blog from time to time.

Peace and love.