Goodbye to the Old Year
the instinct to look back before moving forward
Issue #70
Dear Reader,
As the final sands of the year drop to the bottom of the hour glass, the urge to look back on the last twelve months has taken over my brain. Similar to the nesting instinct that kicks in before the birth of a child, looking back at the past year has become a way to prepare myself for the arrival of a new year.
It’s a way to sift through my memories, look for forgotten gems, and reorganize the rooms of my head and heart. Like nesting, it’s a force I can’t seem to ignore even when there’s plenty of other things pulling at my attention.
This week, despite hand surgery this month (on my dominant hand no less) and sickness and some extra college kids (mine) hanging about, I find myself mentally revisiting the rooms of the past year.
This urge dates back to when my four kids were all younger (between four and fourteen years old) and we started an end of the year ritual of remembering. Spread out over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day, we would watch a slideshow of photos, work on a digital photo book of the year and answer questions I snuck in during meals and rounds of hot chocolate. My kids are fifteen through twenty-four years old now which means these days I do more of my own habit of remembering with less emphasis on full family participation. (Shhhh, I still plan to pull out the questions with the kids who are home on New Years.)
The years of cultivating this practice have taught me that even hidden in the hardest of years there are moments worth returning to before moving on. Moments of courage, of growth, of receiving love from other people. Often in the midst of a challenge it’s hard to see God but looking back provides a different lens.
Ideas for Looking Back
I’m still in the middle of my own reflections for 2024 but I hope to circle back around to share some of my insights soon. In the meantime, I’m sharing what’s worked for me (though it varies year by year) in hopes it might inspire you own practice.
Watch a Photo Slideshow
Looking back over photos is one of my favorite ways to get an overview of my year. It’s amazing how many times I’ve watched a slideshow of photos and remembered a trip or concert that had all but disappeared from my memory. This is a great stand alone activity to celebrate the year but it’s also a good way to freshen up memories before answering reflection questions.
Looking Over My Journal
Tomorrow I will have completed one year of the five-year journal I received for Christmas last year. If you aren’t familiar with this type of journal, take a look. I have this one (mine is green) and I got this one for my fifteen-year-old. If she keeps up with it she will have an easy way to see how her life changes from tenth grade through her junior year of college. And for the end of the year, it’s a simple way to look back because each entry is only a few sentences long.
Tip: I definitely skipped a handful of entries in my journal this year. I’ve been filling in the blank spaces with favorite quotes that I’ve collected. Next year I plan to add small photo stickers to some of my entries as well.
Use Guided Reflection Questions
For the past few years, I’ve used some part of this free resource: the YearCompass. Probably for more than a decade our family has used Tsh Oxenreider’s questions. Suleika Jaouad shares five end of year lists you can make. Ashlee Gadd suggests a “simple stream-of-consciousness list cataloguing what worked and what didn’t.” You can read her list here.
Alternative: The DIY Art Journal Version
Something about the YearCompass overwhelms me if I’m honest, so this year I started cutting out sections and gluing/taping them into a brand new sketchbook and then answering the questions. I’ve had a ton of fun with this approach and I’ve realized I can turn it into a DIY Reflection by adding in some of Tsh’s questions and some of Jaouad’s lists.
Tip: I got a mini photo printer for Christmas this year and I love the ability to add photos directly onto the pages!
Make a Yearly Photo Book
I miss the days where you could make a photo book right inside the Apple Photo app. A few years ago they discontinued that service so now I use Shutterfly instead. My kids used to make a two page layout for themselves with a photo collage on one side and one photo with a text box on the other page. They would fill the text box with favorite books and movies, favorite subject in school, challenges, etc. And it helped spread the work amongst many hands. I admire the people that can keep up with photo book layouts throughout the year but we always end up doing it all at the end (and sometimes we’ve skipped a year or two because…life.)
Another idea: Make a traditional scrapbook. I have friends who still do this!
More Tips
Go to a Coffee Shop: I used to sweeten (bribe) the kids into submission with favorite foods and treats and maybe a trip to Starbucks to get hot chocolate as we answered questions together. Rewards aren’t just for kids! Take yourself to a favorite coffee shop to journal some answers or work on a photo book.
Take More Time: Considering Ashlee Gadd’s advice to use all of January to reflect and think about the year ahead.
Start Small: Break your reflection time up into smaller sessions. You don’t have to do all of these things in a marathon, brain-melting race.
Do it with friends: My friend is using the YearCompass to guide a group through their reflection time. Grab some friends or another family with similar aged kids and do some of these activities together.
Get out of town if you can: The friends that introduced us to this idea of year end reflections would take their whole family to a cabin for several days over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. We didn’t have that luxury but maybe you do.
Just do—something: If we go back to the nesting metaphor, even an hour in the nursery can be enough time to move some old things out and move some new things in. Pick one activity. Give it one hour.
Begin with Prayer: Ask God what He wants you to see about your year.
Do you have any end of the year rituals? I’d love to hear about them!
Reviewing Your Creative Life
Last year I started a new tradition of renewing my creative life. I spent some time looking back at the art I’d made, put together a slide show of my favorites, and wrote a post celebrating “a year of making things”. I might have more to say about my creative life for 2024 but for now here’s a slideshow of some of the things I made this year:
Blessings from the Guest Nest,
-Aimee
P.S.—If your eyes are already on the new year but you aren’t interested in goals and resolutions, check out this inspiring post by artist and author Kelcey Ervick: Forget resolutions and words of the year. Choose a New Year's Imperative instead.
Thanks so much for reading, sharing, and contributing to the conversation. You can support my art and writing by donating to my art supply fund and by sharing this newsletter with friends who might enjoy it.
Love this! I’ve come to find, at least in this stage of life, my review takes the better part of January once life really settles into a normal routine post holidays… so I’m still in process! Love some of these ideas!!
Ooh I need to check out that article about a new year’s imperative!