I have struggled with my “N” topic as anything that is N-related fits elsewhere.

Like Novelty…I want to do some things that are “new to me”, experiences I don’t normally do. Like maybe axe-throwing or archery. Or renting a houseboat. Something “different” from the norm. But the first two would likely go with health and fitness, the second with travel.

I considered Nurture. Taking care of myself, stepping back, meditation, more fresh air experiences. Except they kind of already fall under health.

No? Like I need to practice saying no to stuff? Not really, I’m already doing that. It started with my mom about a year after my dad died. I started saying no to being a default response for some things. I said no to being the automatic peacemaker in the family. On social stuff, I say no all the time — probably too much. I’ve said no to RASC involvement. I don’t have a problem saying no right now. Well, maybe I should say no to some of my own ideas, but that’s a different issue. I think.

I wondered about Navigation in the sense of a specific topic. Like AI. Or law studies. Or education or astronomy. Or retirement. But well, again, I already have those elements covered.

I could consider Nostalgia. It would incorporate some photos of my mom’s, a large scanning project, but again, that is going to go into retirement, not something I’ll get into much in the next year.

I could consider N is for Purging. Hehehe Technically, N would be for Needless i.e., a bunch of things in the house that I no longer need. That includes some electronics, clothes, and books in particular. I’ll purge after retirement. I might get rid of some stuff before then, but it’s not urgent.

And lastly, I have N is for networking? It’s possible. If I decide to do a legacy project before I exit the public service, I could use the networking to make that happen. It would however generally stop me from doing alternation, the HR “box” that I would be in wouldn’t be a great one for potential alternation, more of a temporary one until I exited. Not impossible, but unlikely.

So I’ll probably stick with N is for nostalgia. Maybe it doesn’t have to go that far back. Maybe I’ll just curate some of the stuff from Andrea, Jacob and I.

Are you doing anything for nostalgia this year? A special trip or scrapbooking project?