Reflections

Not much to photograph here in gray Glasgow, just the heel-end of the year, with short, dark days, brief, public spats from the packs of feral children roaming the neighborhood who have been out of school for far too long, and finally, at long last, the end of the ice.

…let the people rejoice.

Not the type of folk who make resolutions spanning more than a single day, we nonetheless are looking behind, to the past few years in Glasgow, and looking ahead, knowing that our time here is ticking down. T. has finished reading for her award and is in the process of clearing the living room of an excess of several hundred books, so that we have fewer to pack when we go. The question of “where to next” is a pulsing throb in our bloodstreams, as D. prepares to buckle down for that last dissertation (or, thesis, if you’re British) push, and then the mind-boggling task of networking, interviewing, and hoping to find degree-related employment. (There are no guarantees on this.) We are relishing these last days of laziness before we straighten up and get serious again.

‘Tis the season… and we kind of hate to turn on the TV or the computer, there are so many ads this time of year for …regret. Regret about what we’ve eaten during the holidays, what we’ve purchased, or where we’ve gone or what we’ve done. (They’re called something else – fitness center ads and all kinds of sales, generally.) It’s strange to be part of a society so highly motivated by guilt and regret. This time of year especially, it’s easy to get wrapped up with what went wrong in the last twelve months — and God knows, there was a lot — but one of the nicest things about us leaving our safety net back home and moving is that, whatever else goes wrong, we know we at least took a chance… took a leap, and did entirely what we wanted to do. So, in the name of getting a fresh start in a new year, we wish you hope and courage for new beginnings. We hope you claim the promise of the unspoiled shine of a brand new year — and do something with it. Take a chance. Take a step.

Onward.

Happy New Year.