Dot-to-Dots

Once again, as we begin a new year, I’m renewed to try to write more, and one of my past writings explains my passion for calendars. With New Year’s Day falling on Sunday, Samantha was with me to recycle the 2011 calendars, open the new 2012 calendars, and then decide where to place them. This year, thanks to my early purchases, personal creations, and a few Christmas gifts, I have at least 16 calendars scattered throughout the house (and I may still pick up a few more on sale):

Two Snoopy/Peanuts
Two general dogs
One dachshund
Mary Englebreit
Sunflowers
Scholastic books
Tinkerbelle
Day-by-day books
Linea desk calendar
Silly Tweets
Classic Trains
The Samantha Calendar
My own garden flowers

One of my new ones that I love is my dot-to-dot calendar on my desk in my home office. As a part of my 2012 daily routine, once I’m up and dressed, while waiting for my coffee to perk and my computer to boot, I do the daily dot-to-dot with great satisfaction! I must explain that, on my own, I don’t draw well—a lack-of-skill communicated to me at the age of five by my mother, who was told this by my kindergarten teacher—a story for another day. But with dot-to-dots, I can draw ANYTHING! As a result, I begin my day drawing with several reinforcements important to life: collaborating (with the unknown dot placement artist), taking things one step at a time, sticking with a project to its end, knowing that I don’t have to be able to envision the end product before I start the project, and more. Plus, I begin the day with an element of surprise and accomplishment!

Best of all, as I work throughout the day in my home office, I can glance at my creation—today’s is a fishbowl filled with a giant gold fish (yes, I even took time to get out the colored pencils)—and get a booster shot of motivation to continue working on the project of the day!

My only distraction is I’m already wondering what I’ll “draw” tomorrow.