Work + Projects

2015

by erin |

So, you’ve been unplugging from the Internet and are all caught up on the adventures of Del Griffith, Cousin Eddie, Kevin McCallister and Ralphie Parker? Feeling like a detox from the popcorn, the hot cocoa, the leftover buckeyes? You’ve taken 18 walks around the neighborhood to see the lights, you’ve built the gingerbread house, you’ve lit the pine candles, you’ve crossed off every item on your winter break bucket list and Bing Crosby isn’t doing it for ya anymore?

Me, too.

I’m itchy for the calendar flip. I’m ready.

2015 was full and good. It was a weird season of sowing seeds, of laying the groundwork for future years, big dreams. Adoption paperwork, book writing, home studies, book editing, and so far I can see that 2016 is shaping up to be the year I water it all, and the year that I wait.

I see it clearly, the pattern. 2015: Sow. 2016: Wait. 2017: Reap.

I don’t know what the next year will hold, in addition to the waiting, but I’m OK with it. For now, I’m going to celebrate the hard work, the digging and pruning and cultivating of the year.

Sometimes, when our hands are deep in dirt, it’s hard to look up and see the seeds. But they’re here, a few pieces I’m proud of, a few posts I wrote this year that gave me a kick in the pants, a jolt in perspective, a gentle nudge when I needed it. I hope they did the same for you.

Below:

If you’re feeling social media envy, read this one.
If you’re feeling lost on the path you’ve chosen, if you’re feeling left behind or directionless, read this one.
If you’re feeling like you should be doing more with your day/passions/gifts, read this one.
If you need to stop beating yourself up for being an emotional trainwreck at times, read this one.
If you feel unbalanced and frenzied (and yell-y), read this one.
If you’re focusing inward and attempting a small change in your life, read this one.
If (when?) your toddler hurts your feelings, read this one.
If you need to shift your definition of love, read this one.
If you need a quick (unexpected) tip for purging clutter, read this one.
If you need a list of things to remember for the day, read this one.
If you want to fight better with your spouse, read this one.
If you need to redefine simple living for yourself, read this one.
If you need to silence the incessant toddler WHYYYYYs, read this one.
If you’re wrestling with religion, read this one.
If you need a new go-to salad that even your kids will love, read this one.
If you need to see the beauty in today, read this one.
If you’re looking for the perfect gift idea for a new mother, read this one.
If you need freedom from your perceived identity, read this one.
If you need to accept your currently cluttered house, read this one.
If a change you’re making is producing tension with others, read this one.
If you need permission to be a bit selfish right now, read this one.
If you want to rethink how you’re spending your time, read this one.

Happy 2016, friends. Here’s to getting what you need, and to realizing you’ve already had it all along.

  • I’m quite ready to be done with this year. It hasn’t been my favorite, for quite a number of reasons. I definitely feel a lot of those things listed above, and plan to read through a bunch of these to make myself feel better before sitting down to do some planning before 2016. Thanks for all that you write, Erin.

    • oh i hear you. 2015 was HARD, yes? thank you for your kindness, and here’s to a fresh start for us all! :)

  • LOVE your prose and can’t wait to get my hand on any book you write. What a wonderful post, I’ll dig into this bit by by today and tomorrow. 2015 has been quite the year, I too feel the same as you do re: Sow, Wait, Reap. I adore your little corner of the internet, and thank you for you words. They’ve touched me on many levels. Happy New Year to you and your family.

  • Happy New Year, Erin! Thank you for all your thoughts and words this year; I know I found much to make me think and smile and relate, and I LOVE that about this crazy internet world. Looking forward to more (and your book, too). = )

  • Love your writing, Erin! Saving this post so that i can come back and read them all later. Wishing you and your family the best in the New Year!

  • I loved so many of those posts – Design for Mankind is a constant source of perspective. Going into 2016 I’m in the “water” phase with my business and the “reap” phase with my growing family. It will be a year full of events and milestones but my goal for the year is calm. Calm with my family, calm with my friends, calm with my business. Calm like a duck in the water who seems still above but feet fluttering below. Happy New Year Erin.

    • ha, i love the duck metaphor! there’s so much truth there!!! happy reap and water year, friend!

  • Tremendous things here. I’m very glad to see your post. Thanks so much and I am looking ahead to contact you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?

  • Pingback: Wishing You a Wonderful New Year | nathalie.ie | photos and finds for the creative and curious

  • Erin, I only started reading your blog this year, but I find it to be a breath of fresh air. Keep doing what you’re doing. Wishing you much love and success in 2016!

  • I cry almost every time I read your posts! ha ha. I think you just touch every raw nerve. Your like that intuitive friend that just knows exactly what I need to hear. Thanks for making me feel and for helping me grow. I think i’m in the watering season too and I am starting to appreciate the process more. Thanks for your help along the way!

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