Inspired by a colleague who uses Year Compass annually, and freed by the leisure of sabbatical, I decided to do the whole booklet this year. (I can’t remember which colleague, and can’t find whatever Facebook post she had commented on, so thank you, whoever you are!) I say “booklet”; what I actually did was write the headings in my journal and take it to Solvang when we traveled there between Christmas and New Year’s, and answered the questions there. I change journals whenever one runs out, not at the end of the year, but as it turned out, the 2023 questions brought me right up to the last page of my journal, and I began the next volume with the 2024 questions, which was lovely. Now they are on the first page, the easiest place to look when I need to remind myself of my intentions for the year.

Many of the headings in the Year Compass are “magical triplets,” such as: “I am ready to let go of these three things.” “These three people will be my pillars during rough times.” The last of the triplets for the coming year is “I will reward my successes with these three presents.” Those were hard to come up with, and in fact, I have still only come up with two: luscious yarn, and a really nice notebook. I have plenty of both, so buying more would be a special treat. Maybe I’ll make the third one that sundae at Fenton’s Creamery that I’ve fantasized about for a long time. Nothing too crazy, just a couple of scoops of Coffee Cookie Dream with hot fudge and whipped cream. Can you believe I’ve been an ice cream lover in the Bay Area for 20 years and never gone to Fenton’s?

But really, what made it hard to think of rewards was that successes are usually so sweet that they are their own rewards. For example, I aimed to end each work day this week with an empty inbox. (As I’ve written before, for many people this is not a worthwhile goal, but for me it’s invaluable.) Yesterday, just before I turned off my computer and headed home from UUCPA, I snapped a screenshot of this lovely sight.

Who needs more reward than that?