Calendars & Hope

Last year (2020) I was so proud of myself for getting the calendar out in January and attempting to fill it up.  I do like to live in the future...  In addition to the calendar, I relied on my December-January Plein Air magazine with it's ever-so-helpful lists of plein air events for the year, organized by state.  I also love to imagine painting in every single state, and at every single plein air event... 😊

Well, we all know how last year turned out.  Best laid plans, and all that.  Paint the Town in Marble Falls, Texas was postponed to October, then postponed again.  Other events I enjoyed in 2019 were turned into virtual/digital shows.  Virtual was not normal, but it was something, so thanks to Downtown Driggs Association in Driggs, Idaho and the G. Lee Gallery in Galveston, Texas for being able to think on your feet and get those virtual shows together.  

A bright spot of welcomed "normalcy" was the Steamboat Springs Art Museum's painting event in September.  So my friends and I snuck through New Mexico without stopping for gas or a snack (NM was on lockdown with a 2-week curfew for incoming travelers).  And while we were in Steamboat, we wore masks and tried to distance ourselves in town.  By September, crossing state lines did seem a little odd, but we took the appropriate precautions to minimize the risk, and thankfully, none of us contracted the plague du jour in Steamboat.

THIS year, as per my normal routine, I bought a 2021 calendar.  A family member teased me about using a paper calendar instead of my phone, but, hey, I'm a visual person and I love filling out a calendar by hand.  Last year's calendar had a LOT of cross-outs.  Let's hope for fewer cross-outs in 2021.  

Good news!  Some of my missed events from 2020 are making tentative plans to return in person in 2021.  So I believe it just may be an act of hope to make plans again.  So far, I'm doing Paint the Town in Marble Falls.  It's my local event, and I love it.  I am considering going  all.  the.  way.  back.  to Driggs, Idaho in July for their event.  And I might get right back in the car and drive to Steamboat again.  

Flexibility is important, but so is hope.  It's important, I think, NOT to automatically assume things will be as they were last year.  And for someone like me, who likes to always have something to look forward to, living in lockdown last year felt like an unending present.  If I can't make a plan, well, I feel defeated somehow.  Even when plans change, having a plan is better than not having one.  

If you are still reading this, I hope you have something in your calendar to look forward to.  And I hope you can manage the balance between safety and risk that we all face because of corona, and manage the balance between being comfortable in the present and making plans for the future.

Peace,

JB