Pajama party for end of year big & small feelings

Last year we did No Resolution Club, this year, with similar intentions, we meet again.

Mindset: The only rule for the next hour or so as you reflect through these prompts is to try to skip the words I should have and I should. Take 3 big, giant, loud breaths for all that is, was, can still be, and all that will be, no matter what.

To begin, complete this sentence: This year I had an abundance of .

And list one thing you unexpectedly discovered or fell in love with this year (food, stationary, home appliance, TV, a color, a habit, music, anything).

The goal isn’t to force something positive to come to mind, but more so remind ourselves that amidst difficult, horrible, painful, life-altering, page-turning, banal, boring, irrelevant years - there was still love, and something we discovered that was worth holding onto.

Jot these down somewhere or just hold them in your mind <3

Warm-up: We play everything is a metaphor if you want it to be

Let's make sense of the year (or something like it) with a little help from poets, birds & other creatives. Give yourself permission to wander. Move through these prompts at your own pace. Linger where something catches your attention:

Warm-up 1 | Of Doorways & Thresholds

The Poetry Foundation Threshold

emilyarna Thresholds: The Sacred Rituals of the Everyday

Warm-up 2 | Of Bird’s Dirt Baths

Franklin2464 What bird is this and why is it doing that

Warm-up 3 | Of Feeding Friends & Abundant Funds

Prolit Two poems by Murdo Homewood — Prolit

Warm-up 4 | Of Aunt Gladys, enough said

IMDb Weapons (2025) ⭐ 7.5 | Horror, Mystery

im_pitch_imperfect Weapons (2025) - Witchcraft Scene

Warm-up 5 | Of What’s Sacred & Holy

twinkle And Yet Held

Prompts for journaling, writing, collaging or reflection:

Some inspiration if you need it:

Collage

Draw everything

Catalogue/list

Externalize/Reveal

Here’s what I wrote in response to the prompts above: This year was prayer this year was a prayer handed down a game of passing-the-parcel between us, like only one of us could hold a good thing at a time

this year was a distracted prayer too many intrusions, so many demands. prioritize. make a framework for how to care

this year was a collective prayer for strangers to have good sleep and be able to eat and for that to not be too much to ask for

this year was an undelivered prayer I dialed the wrong number often, but someone was always listening

this year was a prayer I took for granted sometimes the way I knew you'd always wish the best for me and mean it

this year was a prayer answered — look how we're together again

Thank you to everyone who was able to make a donation to the Chicago Poetry Center - a place I have found belonging, purpose & meaning.

To close: Rename the months of 2025

Fill in the blanks with words, phrases or sentences to recap what this year was for you.

This year I call January ,

This year I call February ,

This year I call March ,

This year I call April: ,

This year I call May: ,

This year I call June: ,

This year I call July: ,

This year I call August: ,

This year I call September: ,

This year I call October: ,

This year I call November: ,

This year I call December: .

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