As I reflect on 2015, while I am not where I want to be in several areas yet, I have a boatload of things for which to be grateful! I hope you enjoy my 12 meaningful moments, book highlights and sensory memories in 2015, and my word for 2016.
JANUARY
Moments – Dad’s unexpected death on January 7th, 2015, five days before his 81st birthday, catapults me back to France for a fortnight at the beginning of the year. Saying goodbye to him and cleaning, clearing and packing up his home in the Var to sell is a rollercoaster. But how happy I am he lived a full, lucid life to then end. I wrote a tribute on FB to him, which you can read here.
Sense – Scents from Dad’s garden—honeysuckle, mint, begonias… as we pack and reminisce a life.
Book – Gaston written by Kelly di Pucchio and illustrated by Christian Robinson (fitting as Dad loved his dog, Noisette!)
FEBRUARY
Moments – What better way to spend 
Valentine’s Day weekend than cross- country skiing at Lapland Lake in the Adirondacks with seven cute female friends?!
Sense – The crisp icy nip of -14F!
Book – Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson a fitting sub freezing survival read.
MARCH
Moments The winter storms persist but I don’t mind the hours spent at my desk revising, rewriting and re-envisoning my MFA thesis, the YA novel, MOONTIDE.
Sense – iPad pings, ‘you’ve got mail’, from your thesis supervisor, Patty McCormick, without whose input this novel would not be as polished as it is.
Book – Rain, Rein by Ann M Martin
APRIL
Moments – The arrival of spring in New York means weekly tennis against my close friend Yvette with river views, almost under the GW bridge.
Sense – The shriek of jets flying up and down the Hudson almost every week without fail becomes a standing joke!
Book – Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo, even a Nana recognizes the magic of New York City.
MAY
Moments – After 75 job applications and half a dozen great interviews followed by a slew of No’s because of my visa situation, the universe surprises me with a yes from my final application, mid May. The job has all three things at the top of my wish list. The school is international, bilingual and offers the IB. Oy!
Sense – Tears of relief and gratitude trickle down my cheeks that at least for one more year, the risks I took in leaving everything and everyone in France in 2012 to get a job in the US are bearing fruit.
Book – Girls Like Us by gail Giles. Oh to be as gutsy as these girls.
JUNE
Moments June 30th, My first time in Colorado. I begin my two month journey by dining with Julie squared (RoZo and Hedlund) in Boulder. A rollicking rocky mountain high.
Sense – Julie Hedlund’s Tuscan culinary courses pay off with a sumptuous pasta dish and more than palatable vino rosso that send taste buds tangoing.
Book – Travels with Charley: In Search of America John Steinbeck (mm, interesting how many books I read have dogs in them.)
JULY
Moments – I meet up with so many old and new friends this month. It makes me dizzy, but the travel highlight is 36 hours on the Zephyr train from Denver to San Francisco—snaking the Coloradao canyons, traversing the desert and scrub of Utah and Nevada, sweeping past the green diamond of Lake Tahoe and winding over the Sierra’s to the Pacific coast.
Sense – Jaw-dropping views from the observation lounge of the train, especially the eerie hue of Utah’s buttes and mesas at sunset.
Book – American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodward, an eye opening cultural history.
AUGUST
Moments – Final stop in my summer shenanigans, 
a few days calm before my new job starts, on Skiff Lake, New Brunswick, with old friends. Unplugged and revived.
Sense – Loon-song during an early morning kayak.
Book – Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky, a great MG read about self- acceptance.
SEPTEMBER
Moments – Staying with Emma and Anne, my best buddies in New York, and cat sitting their frail, ailing utterly adorable feline, Charley Noble.
Sense – Charley’s yowl punctuating the nights! 🙂
Book – Breath to Breath by Craig Lew. Raw and real!
OCTOBER
Moments – While my graduation ceremony was in May, and mid August was my actual graduation closure, October is when I receive the proof in the mail.
Sense – The he crisp card and embossed print of the MFA certificate.
Book – Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, wouldn’t surprise me if this wins some awards,
NOVEMBER
Moments – I move again, this time to Harlem into this teeny tiny room at the top of a Brownstone in a richly diverse neighborhood.
Sense – heat, even with the window wide open, reverberates around my small south-facing room.
Book – National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry
DECEMBER
Moments- First trimester at FASNY, and I am LOVING being a school librarian again, especially in a school with such diversity and kindred colleagues.
Sense – Sensuality and sonority of French in my ears, mouth and dreams again.
Book – Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA by Roberta Kaplan, Lisa Dickey (With), Edie Windsor (Foreword)
For the past four years, I have chosen a word to guide my year. It seems to have become the trend, and it is fun reading others’ words. My word for 2016 is kind of cheating, as it is three words, but they go together liken fish ‘n chips, and it is in honor of Dad.
JOIE DE VIVRE – an ability to love life to its fullest. Happy New Year y’all! Every one of you has had an impact on my life this year, even if you don’t realize it. You’ve inspired me to continue growing and loving. May the new year forge new paths and strengthen the one that you’re on.
Please post your word for the year in the comments!
New Year 2012 New Year 2013 New Year 2014 New Year 2015
In my 20's, with only my guitar and a rucksack, I wandered the continents, immersing myself in the lives of some wonderful people, projects and stories, which changed the way I view my responsibility to others and this earth. Right now I'm a European transplant in the US who writes books for children and young adults. Stories can help us not only navigate our world but can connect us to others, and allow us to inspire and help each other. I believe that equity and empathy should be at the core of our all actions, words, and stories.
I am also a school librarian and I get a kick out of book-matchmaking! And I use the pronouns she/her.
Liebe Joanna, wirklich toll, dieser Jahres Rückblick! Möge ein weiteres, spannendes und befriedigendes Jahr vor Dir liegen. Gott mit Dir 🙂
Danke! Frohes neues Jahr, Iris!
Your life amazes me!! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for you in 2016!! My word for 2016 is EXPAND! Not physically (I hope), but in every other way! Expand my horizons, relationships, experiences, writing time . . . Happy New Year, Joanna!
Happy New Year, Lori. Love your word…. it makes me want to reach!
My word is Blessed. Changing careers with a chronic illness was intimidating for me. I’ve never felt so scared to do that before. I am feeling older, slower and more mortal lately, as I lose friends and loved ones around me. I am committed in 2016 to focus on all the areas I am blessed in, rather than the losses and look forward to many blessings.
Bonnie, you are one courageous lady and you inspire me. The losses do multiply as we get older and I love your focus for 2016. Be blessed. xo
JOIE DE VIVRE sounds perfect! I hope you have a wonderful 2016.
Thanks, Stacy. I hope I get to see you again in 2016!
What a lovely post. You’ve had a very interesting and fulfilling year. You’ve always hung onto hope and things have managed to work out for you! I have good feelings for you about 2016!
Thank you and a very happy new year, Pat!
I love the recap of your 2015! I may have to take better notes of my 2016 and try something like this next December. 🙂
Wishing you a 2016 that is filled with fun, joy, love, and success whatever you define success to be! xo
Thank you. Teresa. Lots of change plus photos helped me to remember what I had done.
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you, too!
What an amazing year, Joanna! It sou ds like you already had some joie de vivre. Wishing you another awe inspiring 2016.
Happy New Year! I love JOIE DE VIVRE it fits you perfectly.I’ve been thinking for days, and I finally decided on my word for 2016. No, it’s not puppies. Whole. In all of my striving to accomplish my goals, I want to remember that I’m already whole. This will help me to have daily peace along my journey. I hope you have a wonderful 2016. I look forward to following your adventures.
Very thoughtful, Krista. That daily mindfulness is so important.
Those are some lovely memories. May 2016 bring you even better ones.
Thank you so much Misha. May your year be bountiful, too.