It doesn’t seem possible, but here I am, on the morning of my birthday, about to take another 365-day journey around the sun. For me, that will probably look like three fully completed marathons’ worth of words, when you include the training and recovery necessary for an endurance race.
Although my marathon(s) will be on a different sort of course, I guess it’s maybe a bit like Forrest Gump meets Harold Fry, both on a seemingly pointless journey along physical roads previously untraveled by either of them. All the while, a life’s mission and meaning unfold in words.
Only I plan to do it without the actual physical legwork the two delightful fictional characters put in, as Forrest ran and Harold walked toward what they first thought they were running away from, meeting life’s characters and telling inspirational stories along the way.
Having said that, I am casually exploring the serious notion of participating in a little thing called a triathlon in 2027. Before you send up the OMG, “she’s finally lost it!” alarm bells: I am fully, trust me, fully aware of my age and physical limitations. But I also know what it takes to participate, how to pay attention to my body, and I have no delusions about winning. So, we’ll see what the next year brings. 😊
The thing I did sign myself up for is this: One year of writing every day. I’ve done it before, so I know just what kind of commitment I’m making on my own behalf. I can’t think of a better way to commemorate and celebrate the second quarter-century of being more or less “in the driver’s seat.”
I’ll leave it to you to do the math. I promise it actually does make sense. The first 15 years, my parents were in the driver’s seat. Then I took the wheel, figuratively speaking, and, well, thank goodness, I realized somewhere along the way that driving while curling my hair isn’t the best way to multitask. Although, in my defense, the manufacturers of the car, the curling iron, and the outlet adapter made it all possible. I was just making the most of the technology at hand. 😉
Today is obviously the first day, and this is the first installment. Now, I promise this isn’t going to be a complete cradle-to-current reminiscence. Still, it will contain walks down memory lane and how they connect with my life today: what I’m working on, what I believe, how I interact with people, and, honestly, my hopes for the future, because for me, it’s all tied together.
If I’ve learned anything about myself over the past few years, it’s that, in the famous words of Popeye, “I yam what I yam.” 🙃 In other words, I can’t completely separate the professional Beth from the artist, writer, daughter, mother, dreamer, and, at times, delightful human being. So, for the next year, and perhaps forever more, I’ll be writing from the perspective of Beth the person, rather than the compartmentalized version.
So, while the topics may be “platform-specific,” aka Facebook for the family picnic and LinkedIn for the business networking event (the IRL kind of event), and Substack? I’m still trying to figure out just where, or if, it fits for me.
Many of you know this, but for those who don’t: I was born in Bismarck, North Dakota, moved nine times before I was 15, and have moved from one city to another five times since my 15th birthday. The constants in my life were my family, communications technology (my dad worked for Ma Bell of the Northwestern Bell variety), the back of a Ford LTD station wagon (figuratively and factually), and Big Sand Lake, aka The Lake of a Million Memories.
Family, communications technology, Big Sand Lake, travel by car. These have been my four anchors in life. I finally noticed that those four anchors share the same theme, each slightly different, but tied together:
● Family is how humans connect.
● Communications technology is how humans reach each other across distance.
● Big Sand Lake is the place humans return to, to reconnect.
● And the car is how humans physically travel to close the distance.
Every single one carries the same theme: connection across distance and the return.
It’s really no wonder that I’m so fascinated by how people communicate with each other. My life has translated into one of constant observing, reading, assessing, processing, connecting, interacting, and facilitating.
From Party Lines to AI, this girl from Bismarck, North Dakota, who happens to come from a long line of amazing people before her, has a lot to say.
From me to you, thank you for being a part of my very happy birthday!
