There are certain days on the calendar which, when they come around, provide a natural time for reflection. Some are dates with widespread meaning – like the fast-approaching New Year’s Eve – while other milestones are more personal in nature. Things like, for example, birthdays.
Today, for instance, December 11, the date this Woodworker’s Journal Weekly email goes out, is Rob’s birthday. (Have you ever had a friend or coworker who is so humble about their personal celebrations that you realize you’ve worked through their birthday for years without ever knowing when it was? Yeah, Rob is not that person.)
Such personal milestones have been on my mind this year as I celebrated one of those big decade birthdays last month, and also in 2018 commemorate 20 years of working at Woodworker’s Journal. Yes, it has been 20 years worth of hearing constant reminders about December 11 — but also opportunities like meeting Sam Maloof (he bought me ice cream) and, on the whole, working with a great cast of characters.
I’m still in the process of envisioning and refining my personal goals from last month’s birthday reflections (hey, I’ve got until at least New Year’s Eve …), but I’m wondering: what has 2018 meant to you as a woodworker – and what’s in store for you next year?
Joanna Werch Takes, Woodworker’s Journal
