December 2025

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Writing Prompt:

New Year’s Resolutions Reflection

If you know anything about me by now, you know that I’m a huge proponent of revision. My EN101 students could tell you firsthand that I ask them to reflect ad nauseam. But I really believe that in this fast-paced world, we don’t spend enough time slowing down and recognizing how we got here in the first place.

To quote my old friend George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” But reflection isn’t all doom and regret; there’s much to celebrate, too. I mean, we got here somehow, right? Even if we crossed the finish line crawling, we still earn the same finisher’s medal as the person who glided across effortlessly a long time ago (and is probably already enjoying a hot shower).

The end of December and beginning of January is when many of us start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Turning over the calendar and writing a new digit at the end of our dates feels like the perfect cue to start fresh. Quit smoking. Start running. Begin journaling. Stop losing my temper. The list of ways we want to “be better” is endless.

Unfortunately, resolutions often look a lot prettier and more hopeful on January 1 than they do a few weeks (or months) later. According to a 2023 Forbes study, fewer than 1 in 10 people (8%) said their resolutions lasted a full month. About 22% made it three months, and only 1% said they kept theirs for an entire year. ​ Source: CBS News​

There are plenty of theories about why resolutions fail, but that’s not what I want to focus on today. Instead, I want to offer something more positive, and honestly something that works every single time.

What is this magical thing, you ask?

It’s reflection. An “Old Year’s Reflection” if you will. You see, I don’t think we can truly know where we’re going in 2026 until we understand where we’ve been in 2025, both the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, the wins and the wipeouts.

Thankfully, my good friend Mel Robbins agrees. She takes it even further with something she calls the Year-End Audit. She writes, “You can’t figure out where you’re going until you take a moment to understand where you are.”

I’ll link her website and podcast at the end of this piece, but for those who like a good summary, here are the seven reflection questions she challenges us to ask before stepping into the new year:

1. What were the highlights of the past year? (Hint: use your camera roll to jog your memory.)
2. What were some of the hardest parts?
3. What did you learn about yourself — for real — this year?
4. What do you need to stop doing?
5. What do you need to start doing?
6. What will you continue doing?
7. What’s one small step you can take today?

That’s it. You’re done. No resolution required.

You don’t have to promise to become a new person or set a goal that may or may not last until February. Instead, take a few minutes to look back — to honor what you did, how you grew, and who 2025 shaped you to be.

And honestly?

That’s enough.

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Story Starter:

Footprints in the Snow

The house was quiet except for the soft ticking of the clock, counting down the final hours of the year. Outside, the trees stood bare and silent, like they were holding their breath for something new to begin. Snow began to cover the footprints in the yard, hiding all the evidence of what had just happened there.

November 2025

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A Thank You Note

Maybe it’s all that gratitude I’ve been practicing with a few friends that brought me to this place. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not suddenly a saint of thankfulness or a perpetually grateful person moving forward. (If you know me, you know December is my most Grinchy month. I’m so grateful I don’t have to keep a journal then…)

But the daily practice of looking around and seeing the good has been impactful. Who knew that seeing a pile of clean laundry waiting to be folded could remind me how lucky I am to have so many clothes to wear?

There were things I was thankful for, to be sure. And even places that found themselves regularly in my journal (hot showers and my bed). But what I noticed most is that my gratitude was most genuine when I was thankful for people. (I tried thanking my clean laundry basket, but apparently it fell on deaf ears).

Did you realize how many people show up for you on a regular basis? From the garbage collector who hauls away our stinky bins, to the neighbor who pauses for a quick chat while walking the dog. From the friend who texts you a meme she knows you’ll laugh at, to the family member who quietly does the chore you hate.

There are so many good people in the world. Too often the news, and even local gossip, floods my world and turns me cynical. But on the seesaw of life, the good ones definitely outweigh the bad.

As we tiptoe from November and December, I challenge all of you, my Readers, to write one thank you note. Recognize someone who performed the tiniest act with the biggest heart or someone that shows up for you again and again.

Write it on a card and send it snail mail. Or send an email. Or even a text. Don’t let the medium get in the way of the message that needs to be sent.

Thanks need to be given away. Daily and unconditionally. Because thanks are free (even if stamps aren’t).

So what are you waiting for? Send out a thank-you note today. And maybe one tomorrow. Hopefully, this will become your practice for the month of December. We could all use a little extra positivity and encouragement to get through one of the busiest, most stressful months of the year.

After all, gratitude isn’t just something we should feel on our own. It’s something meant to share.

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In the meantime, I’ll check my mailbox daily. Just in case one of your thank-you notes comes my way. 😉

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(September 2025)

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Gratitude journals

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Have you ever kept a gratitude journal?

I haven’t.

Gratitude journals fall in the same category for me as seasonal home decorating or creative crafts to do with kids. They are things I wish I wanted to do. And so instead, I marvel at other people who actually do these things either because they’re more disciplined or more creative (or both). I actually have a Pinterest board entitled, “Crafty Project I’ll Never Do.” It made me feel better to pin them, and then when I discovered Etsy, my finger couldn’t “add to cart” fast enough.

Gratitude is something we all should practice. In this fast-paced, consumer-driven world, I often find I feel overwhelmed by the information coming at me disappointed by all the things society says I should own that I don’t.

One more pair of shoes. A seasonally-themed table runner. Jeans that are in style today and might remain there through the end of the week. A thinner body. Straighter hair. At the end of the day, who I am and what I own just isn’t enough.

And it will never be.

Which leaves me with three options:

1. Join a nunnery where the world and its consumerism mentality is shunned (probably need to run this by my husband and kids first)
2. Crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my head until the world spins out of control and reverts back two hundred years (could I really exist with only outdoor toilets?)
3. Attempt a gratitude journal

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I’ve never started a gratitude journal because it always felt overwhelming. Find something I appreciate and write about it…every day? What does it say about me as a person if I can’t find anything to write about on a particular day? What if I write about something as meaningless as a blade of grass just so I can check it off on my to-do list?

In doing a some (basic) research on gratitude journals, here’s a few helpful suggestions I found:

1. Try sticking to one time of day and find one thing you are grateful for at that moment
2. Feel free to write about anything, from the mundane to the magnificent
3. Write in your journal in a different place every day, if possible. Let the place inspire your gratitude (yes, we can even be grateful in laundry rooms)
4. Have a gratitude partner who keeps your accountable or inspires you
5. Don’t over practice gratitude (hallelujah!). At some point the scale tips from strengthening this muscle to overworking it and burning it out. So if you miss a day, offer yourself grace. And maybe, after a month of daily entries, move to a weekly rhythm.

I’m up for the challenge…are you?

Today, I’m thankful for the opportunity and the challenge. (Day #1=✅ 😉)

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Story Starter:

The Zoo Goes Boo

​https://www.cleverlycatheryn.com/blog-posts/sensory-friendly-la-zoo-lights-night​

“C’mon, hurry up!”
“I’m working as fast as I can. I only have hooves, you know.”

There was a slight jingling noise as the lock gave way and the gate opened. The hippopotamus nose-bumped the zebra as a way of thanks.

“No stopping now. We’ve got more friends to release. This is going to be the BEST Halloween ever!”

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Writing Prompt:

Autumn

My feelings toward autumn are complex. Okay, maybe they’re not complex, but at least I am aware that my feelings toward this season are perhaps a bit more dreary than many others. I am such a summer lover that I cannot truly appreciate the other seasons for what they have to offer. While others are enjoying their warm, fuzzy sweaters, cooler weather and stunning foliage colors, I spend my fall calendar days dreading winter, making plans for a three month hibernation and searching online for nonstop flights to warmer locations.

I was searching the internet for general writing themes for autumn, and I stumbled across the most lovely website which encapsulated the magic of autumn and offered the most perfect writing prompts imaginable. I knew after visiting this website that anything I would try to create for my readers would fall short (or veer heavily toward idea plagiarism), so forgive me for punting (that was for all you fall football fans out there) and sending you directly to Gillian Florence’s website for your September writing invitations:

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Story Starter

This month, I just couldn’t choose between two different story starters, so you get both!

1. “In my town, the leaves on trees change color every fall based on the changing mood of the people. This year, the leaves all turn black.”
2. “As she was walking alone in the woods, her eyes caught something. It was an unusual leaf, unlike any she had ever seen before. But when she picked it up to put it in her pocket and take it home, she couldn’t believe what she underneath.”