In most years around this time, I review my previous year’s goals and set new ones for the upcoming calendar year (see: 2021, 2020, etc.). But, interestingly, I never established set goals for 2022. Perhaps on some level I knew this year would prove hard to stick to my typical plans; my pregnancy and the birth of my son have certainly thrown my typical routine a bit out of whack. However, I’m a very list-driven, action-oriented person, so this bugged me quite a bit through the first part of the year. 

But here’s the important part that I eventually realized: It’s ok! It’s ok not to have a list of goals/resolutions a mile long. It’s ok to slow down. It’s ok to take each day one at a time. 

And if it’s something you truly enjoy, you’ll make time for it anyway. I did, anyway. Even without my master list of goals to work through, I still continued many of my nature study practices from previous years (e.g., spending time outside birdwatching, hiking, or just generally enjoying the outdoors; leading events for the Upper Cape Naturalists Club; writing blog posts; using my nature journal; etc.). I also managed to finish the coursework for the Kamana III Naturalists Training program that I had begun the year before.  

In my last few blog posts, I’d mentioned how I’d been forced to slow down during the end of my pregnancy, which unexpectedly gave me the opportunity to look closer and notice details I would’ve otherwise missed. And while my unaided eyes have proven to be an invaluable observation tool, I’m very excited about a new item I received as a Christmas gift. My husband gave me a new macro lens for my cell phone, which will allow me to “look more closely” than ever before. From a new perspective on the “ordinary” (e.g., a pitch pine cone) to finally getting a close up look at some of the microfauna (e.g., globular springtails) in my yard, I’m excited for the new perspectives this will bring. So stay tuned for some “close up” posts through January, which I’m starting to think of as “a month of macro”.