January 4, 2022

Happy New Year BOSLadies!

I’m Very excited about the links below so I won’t waste time getting to it BUT for those of you who didn’t get a chance to see them, the WILD PechaKuchas from LightFair have been re-recorded and are now on YouTube. Brittany Lynch, founder of the PRG, spoke about the shame of working moms and I spoke about our book club and the importance of our community. A huge thank you is due to Kelly Roberts, President of WILD NYC, for her tireless efforts and editing to get this done.

Also a reminder that our first meeting of 2022 will be on February 8th, hosted by Alexandra to discuss The Long Game.

The Weekly Three (plus one)

1. Something about sense of time: One of my favorite things about new year is getting to start a new planner. It’s a cherished ritual of mine to list, in one of its blank pages before the dates begin, the 12 months and the significant things from the previous year that I want to remember. What I choose to note is illuminating - what stands out as I page through my old calendar shows me what I value and should hold space for in the new year.

While I was searching for a specific event that wasn’t marked in my 2021 planner (!), I went back to an old notebook that also covered a bit of 2020. As I looked at 2020, my mind was blown. How had that much time passed since those events happened and how warped is my sense of it?

With all of this on my mind, this New York Times article piqued my interest and it ended up being much more extensive in its content. The author points out that New Years is celebrated on many dates in many cultures throughout the year so if you like the new year symbolism to align with the pursuing of fresh habits, you have more than just January 1st to work with.

Speaking of resolutions…

2. Something about habits not to give up: How about something light? Every year, Outside magazine publishes a list of bad habits they’re not giving up for the new year. Who knew that unfiltered coffee can raise cholesterol???

3. Something about new books for our field: This is a book club letter so of course I’m going to include at least one of the “books to look forward to in 2022” lists. This one is all design and architecture related.

4. Something about mindset: My partner and I are so late to the Ted Lasso train but it kept us weary folk up past midnight on New Year’s Eve. I’m including it for y’all (see what I did there) even though it’s old news because of Lasso’s embodiment of the Walt Whitman quote “be curious, not judgmental”. Let’s take that with us into 2022.

Happiest of New Years and thank you for taking the time to read, Amber