I’ve been thinking about many of the Reverb 10 prompts since Jonathan tipped me off on it in his early December blog. At the time, with the swirl of my world spinning around me, I couldn’t commit significant time to it. Now, before the remainder of month one for 2011 gets away from me, I’d like to tackle some of their prompts.
One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)
Challenging. From beginning to end, 2010 was its own version of a roller coaster ride for me with times I needed to push myself, moments of elation and passages where holding on was all I could do. In one year I: lost 40 pounds (after joining Weight Watchers and a gym, then pushing myself each week to do more), survived two car accidents, started blogging, kept off those dang 40 pounds, read an intimate piece I wrote during a conference writing workshop, then read said piece in front of 70 or so people at the public reading, assisted my mother with some health needs and beginning the retirement process and survived yet another holiday of dysfunction that is my immediate family.
On January 1, 2012, I’d like the word that captures 2011 for me to be peace.
Barbara McDowell 