My Pollyanna Year

 A Happy New Year - if rather belated!

Last year was rather challenging in so many ways that kept me away from writing…. Not all of the year was that bad, but there have been some difficult times so it’s nice to turn the page for the annual fresh start….

Here’s the last sunset of 2025 to gaze on …. So many things have happened, but the sun still sets and rises so it’s all good in the end…

I had thought that 2026 would be my year of consolidation ready to move forwards, but then I thought that last year. I am more sorted than before and now think it’s time to crack on with creating an even better time to come.

I’ve started the regular routines of organising and setting things to rights. Taking down the decorations and dealing with the Christmas cards always make me feel like the new year is well and truly started.

Having saved and dated the close family cards I’ve cut the rest up into handy list sized blanks, made a note of everyone that sent cards, taken any ideas or attachments that might be reusable and recycled the rest.

This year I also got to the local food larder where all the goodies which might otherwise be wasted are available free. I was spurred on to do it by my niece who had already garnered the giveaway veggies, chopped and prepped them, then froze her stash for later.

I’ve copied her with chopped carrots and swede…

Sliced and par-boiled parsnips and am feeling a bit smug about my bulging freezer contents!

Anyway - consolidation then. I realised that it doesn’t sound so exciting and a bit ‘stay in one place-ish’. But I don’t feel like it’s negative - more a way of giving myself a platform to push off from. Then I realised what was missing from my nice, sound, solid, productive sounding year … it just didn’t sound like me!

When I was little there was a film called Pollyanna (starring Hayley Mills I think). The main character was a girl with a positive spin on most things and a stubbornness in viewing the world through rose coloured glasses. At the time one or two adults started calling me Pollyanna- it seems that I tended to try snd see the bright side of things. Even one of my teachers did it.

Over the years it’s cropped up now and again. What was a rather endearing quality in a child can wear a bit thin though I guess. Finally, a very obnoxious boss I worked with who was incredibly negative snapped under the weight of me looking for a speck of sunshine in some hard work situations barked about my ‘Pollyanna attitude’.  It was a great compliment to me although it wasn’t supposed to be.

I still try to keep this tendency up, although I don’t think I’ve recognised it of late or valued the effect it has on my outlook enough!

So this year, even though I want to sort out my belongings, organise myself and do some about the new business I mentioned wanting to start many months ago, I think the Pollyanna me needs to head up the operations.

It’ll be less boring, mundane or ordinary and encourage me to enthuse and be interested in all the many projects that my brain will want to fidget around.

From now on I need to ask myself in any situation- what would Pollyanna do or think to make the most of the year’s opportunities?

I’ll finish with the last of the Christmas mince pies from 2025 …. Or is it the first of 2026? Now what would Pollyanna say?