Interlude Ritual: The Year in Review

The list of end-of-year rituals is nearly as long as the year itself. I have already made clear how I feel about resolutions, and declared I will have none. But I got an email with what I think is a cool idea, specifically for this year. I signed up for some photo walk resources with Lizzie Larock sometime early in the pandemic. I continue to get her emails, with encouragement about creativity and mindfulness. 

Today, Lizzie wisely reminded us as we bid good riddance to 2020 in all its shittiness (my word, not hers), there are likely some good or even great things we have forgotten about. She shared some of the science and psychology on why our brains tend to remain stuck on the negative stuff. But in a nutshell, she explains how we tend to summarize the year by the “peak-end” phenomenon. This means, we mostly recall the peak experience of the year (good or bad), and the end experience of the year (good or bad).

Lizzie’s recommendation to counteract the peak-end “cognitive trap” as she called it? Choose 7 photos, using the prompts as I did below, that shaped your year. Then write about them for 5 minutes total. Great idea, no pressure to write anything earth-shattering. Here’s what I got for ya... give it a try if you like and tag @Lizzielarock if you do.

1. A photo of a highlight of 2020

I knew right where I was going with this one. It was an amazing trip quite literally 2 weeks before the world shut down. I have enough pics for a photo album, but selected this one because we planned the whole trip around the Tesla concert. It was absolutely fantastic!

Dave Rude & Frank Hannon- Tesla concert at The Saenger Theater in Pensacola, Florida (2-14-20)

2. A photo of a meaningful moment

It was sometimes hard to find meaningful moments in this year, as I went from traveling across the country for work two times a month to working at home in my office everyday. That said, I was grateful my employment was unaffected otherwise, as well, my husband’s and my son’s jobs were not affected. For this we felt very lucky. Scrolling through my photos I found this gem from October. In between stops during his workday, my son called randomly and asked if I would like to eat lunch together. That’s what we did. I called it in, he picked it up, and we sat for a rare and true lunch break. Here he is sitting at my table. It made me feel happy the whole rest of the day. I still remember!

3. A photo of a moment with your loved ones

The photo I chose first for this is not the one that appears below. I have this adorable picture of my three nieces, 2 years, 4 years, and 6 years-old. I was staying at my dad’s condo on the beach for a week and they came to have a “sleepover” with my sister-in-law. The photo is of the three of them playing in the sand, care free on the wide open beach. Their giggles and their energy were delightful. My sister-in-law does not post photos of her girls on any social media or anywhere public, so I left it out and instead opted for a pic of my husband and me, from that same trip to Pensacola (in #1). We were standing up on a boardwalk tower looking at our shadow cast down below. I love this pic because it looked like we were in our Jeep Wrangler, which sadly we do not have anymore. We don’t have a whole lot of photos with loved ones from this year, but he’s always on the top of my “loved ones” list and my son is already pictured :)

4. A photo of something new you tried this year

The subject of this photo was easy, it was just a matter of selecting one to represent the “new” thing we tried this year. My husband and I bought a van and we’re in the process of converting it to a camper van. This is a photo of our dashboard as we pulled out for our first trip. At this point we had only installed floor insulation and vinyl panel flooring (which looks great). We threw a mattress on the floor and tossed in some of our camping gear, and we were on our way. More to come for sure in 2021!

5. A photo that makes me proud

This pic represents me at the peak of a health journey. No processed foods, low grains and no added sugar, and I was biking regularly. I had just come in from a long challenging ride. I appreciate how my face and skin look in this photo, and how proud I was and continue to be about taking new perspective on my overall wellness, rather than just weight loss. In fact, it’s a reminder the holidays are over, and it’s time to recalibrate.

6. A photo that makes me feel connected

Another easy one to pull up right away. This was the #writeout in October, when I met up with some of my writing buddies at a local state park. We wrote together, walked and talked, and ended the day with a really nice campfire and s’mores, and each of us shared a piece of writing. It was wonderful and we were definitely connected... to one another and to the natural world. Planning again for next year, for sure.

7. A photo that just makes me smile

Lizzie reminded us not to worry about the “best” pics and to focus on what they represent. Good advice, because I am actually sharing here a photo I would most definitely NOT describe as flattering, but man it sure does make me smile. Even laugh out loud! Last February, again about a month before the chaos of COVID ensued, my husband and I went to Universal Islands of Adventure with my best friend and her husband. We always have such a good time together, and this trip has a longer story than is interesting to anyone else. Suffice to say it replaced our annual trip together to the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival. Universal doesn’t compare, but we had fun anyway. Here’s a funny pic of Christine and me being silly in the Seussland store. Good times.

This was fun, for sure. It’s helpful to look back on the year and seek out the good times. The year is new, but it doesn’t mean magically everything will be better. Reminders to look for the joy wherever we can found it will likely serve us well, this year and always. Happy New Year!