As Yet Unwritten

December 30, 2025

I break tradition Sometimes my tries Are outside the lines

We've been conditioned To not make mistakes But I can't live that way, no

I'm just beginning The pen's in my hand Ending unplanned

Reaching for something in the distance So close you can almost taste it Release your inhibitions Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins The rest is still unwritten

-- Natasha Bedingfield Unwritten

The closing of the year. A tradition of mine is to jot down on my calendar throughout the year the significant things we did: camping trips, family visits, projects, events and activities, medical issues — you know, the various memorable milestones and celebrations of life. Then on New Year's Eve, we go through each day, each month, having one more remembrance of what we experienced, and then we blow out a candle to say goodbye to the year.

We open the new year’s calendar. It’s empty, the dates and pages are blank.

Remember the days of manual typewriters when if you made a typo, you had to stop, turn the knob a couple of rows, get out that ink eraser, scratch and rip the paper trying to correct the one mistake, then try to recenter the paper? Mistakes were a permanent mark on the master copy.

I have been writing down stories from my life as a way to share what I did throughout my many years, and some of the reasons, good and bad, for the choices and decisions I made. This Christmas, I shared a copy of those stories with my kids. My years are written in indelible ink, as much as I try to erase or whitewash some of the mistakes.

But I have more pages to fill! Days and years (many years, hopefully) as yet unwritten. What shall I write? The choice is mine, each day.

Each day, the earth turns to reveal the sun blessing our lives with new energy. Each day we rise to give thanks for our life and to seek how we can make a positive difference. Each day, twice a day, the tide washes the footprints from our beaches and leaves a fresh strip of sand to be filled with new stories.

What comes to your mind when you look at the coming year, the rest of the years of your life, and see blank pages waiting to be written? What do you want to have written on those pages when you come to the last page?

What’s in the past is past. This new day, this new year, is up to us. No one writes it for us. Arms wide open, let’s write a good story!

jack

"When I'm done here, I don't want to wonder whether someone caught the kiss I threw; I’ll know."  – C. J. Heck

Make our new year bright! Thanks for being a part of mine.