‘Hope to’ list growing

Thanksgiving has passed. I ate enough turkey and stuffing and fixings to sink the ship a few times.
The pumpkin pie was exceptional, if I’m allowed to say so; the pumpkin grown in my own garden, which somehow makes it more noteworthy, almost noble.
If Rod Stewart is knight-worthy so is my pumpkin.
Sir Pumpkin. Has a nice ring to it. Much better than Dame Pumpkin (but that’s a discussion for another day).
Every year in October, I prepare a list of what I hope to accomplish in the next 12 months and/or I add to my long-term list. I choose a dark and stormy night, which one evening last week most certainly was.
I hunker down by the fire with a cozy blanket. I sharpen my pencil and open “My Book of Lists” to a fresh page. I turn past my list of favourite words, my list of inspiring books, my list of memorable quotes, my list of words that confuse me, my list of grandma ideas, my list of thoughtfulness others have bestowed upon me.
On the clean fresh page, I write the date (Oct. 12 to be precise), at the top, followed by the year. Then below it, I put the heading “I Hope To.”
I don’t use words that imply an obligation, like should or must or will, and I suppose, in some ways, that is a bit of a cop-out. But it is meant to be a gentle list; a list of encouragement and utterly filled with hope as though the world might change in this upcoming year and we all will be better for it.
Each year I try to encourage myself to live more in the moment and to work less; to not be so driven to complete things that require manual labour. But I have yet to accomplish that. I think it is hard-wired into my cells and I find it difficult not to be doing.
I’m not that concerned as I tend to get a lot done, but others seem to think I need to take it down a notch. Who knows? I’ll put it on my list just in case I find Zen, although I’m not sure I’d recognize Zen if it drove right into me.
I can share a few of my ideas with you (since you asked). I want to keep bees. I want to help this creature that our lives are so dependent on. I want to do what I can to increase their numbers and ensure their survival in whatever small way I can.
This requires speaking to local beekeepers or apiarists, as well as finding resources at my local library—the one place that can take me anywhere in the world and learn about anything I am curious about without really leaving home.
The library is very good for a non-peopley person like me (side note: I also have a list of words that should be in use, “peopley” being one of them).
I want my concerns about issues to lead me into action rather than to grumble and whine or, even worse, to feel helpless. I want to empower myself and know that I can be part of the change—no matter how small that part might be.
I may not be able to stop the media from giving Donald Trump a platform, but I certainly can not listen to his madness. I can do the same for other blowhards.
I’d like to learn another language, aside of pretend Irish. I’m not sure I can accomplish that in a year, but it could go on my long-term plan.
Eating my way to better health is a regular on my list, but I seem unable to sustain that particular movement for very long. Perhaps this will be the year.
I want to embrace being a minimalist; I’m halfway there. The ideas are coming so I’d better get back to my list.
wendistewart@live.ca