Where Things Stand

Some years ago, I wrote a couple of New Year poem. I don’t recall why. It’s not my sort of thing - very Hallmark-y. I am sharing it with you anyway and some thoughts about how 2026 is going.

Poem I
Today I resolve to Live
Today I resolve to Love
Today I resolve to Meet the Greatness
That I was Meant
To Be
As the Sun Resolves
To Shine
As the Moon Resolves
To Beam
As the Stars Resolve
To Burst with Light
So This Day I Resolve
To Shine,
To Beam,
To Burst with Light
And Blind the World
With My Destiny
Poem II
I Dare the New Year
To Best Me
As I Face the New Year,
The Best Me
Will Emerge to Spite the Year
And Spike the Year
With Hope and Champagne Dreams
Bubbling with
Eternal Effervescence

Goofy, I know. But it reminds me that from time to time I allow myself to give in to unmitigated optimism.

There is a song I am a little ashamed to admit gives me this feeling every single time I hear it. It is a 1990 song by the band Asia, Days Like These. They were not a particularly great band, even if they were considered a “supergroup,” being made up of musicians who had success in previous bands. But something about that song really does make me feel like I could change the world, even if past experience has proven otherwise.

Today the overcast sky is a bit of a bummer, but I’ve just returned from vacation, so there is still a bit of delight left to overcome it. So, I guess the first near-half of 2026 is going pretty well and my enthusiasm is on par with what I would expect halfway through May.

How about you? Has your excitement over the new year waned? Is 2026 a disappointment? a success? Of course, it’s not even half over and so much more will come our way.

As I mentioned previously here on Substack, I had the opportunity to retire in January. I use the word retire very loosely, too, since I was kind of cornered into it. But opportunity might be a great word in this case. Not just about the opportunity to pursue more writing projects, but the opportunity to test my resolve and my previous beliefs. The “old” Maryann, the one who kept going year after year in a job I did not care for (I have GOT to find another job) turned into well, I have pigeonholed myself and now I am not “marketable,” as if my very person were a commodity. But that is the way we see ourselves when we look at our jobs as what defines us.

The old Maryann would have said, okay, keep going. A regular steady income is hard to leave.

The “new” Maryann said I have finally had enough. I know myself and I know I am going to regret whatever decision I make, whether I stay or not. Might as well take the plunge.

Now that I have left the old 9-5, I find I am busier than ever. I have several areas of work: my personal writing projects, the Dolomite Review, and Substack. It keeps me busy constantly. The creative side, the business side.

And there is my personal life, full of family that I treasure every single day.

Where did we stand on December 31? Where did we stand on January 1. Where do we stand now, nearly six months later. Are we the same person?

This constantly wanting to change ourselves is not what I am talking about. I mean knowing ourselves more. Knowing the world better. Not just through news but through our personal experiences walking through life.

If any part of this resonates, I’d love to hear your own reflections.