There was a time, many moons ago, where I kept a journal of things I had learned that day or week or month. Admittedly, there were days when I felt like I hadn’t learned anything. This is contrary to what I tell my son. I tell him that everyday one learns something new. I should perhaps change that to there everyday there is the possibility of learning something new. However, life often takes odd twists and turns, and at times one has to be more of a firefighter than a librarian. Or something to that effect. I no longer keep said journal. No point.

Yet, my mind has been racing lately as we near the end of the year. Random new bits of knowledge pop up like little bubbles over my head. Today, I learned, or rather had reinforced, that caffeine doesn’t go well with everything. I’ll leave it at that. As I think about these random bits I am once again of the belief that we do learn something new everyday. We might not readily recognize it as so.

However, I am also of the belief thay each year has one major learning experience. Whether it’s to not try to fry a turkey or to not trust certain people, there’s a learning experience that stands out.

Last year we collectively learned about MnRA technology. Well, that learning activity actually continued into 2021. We also learned (or remembered) that an evenly split senate can’t seemingly get much done.

Probably a major lesson is that one can leave that job and try something new. One learned to hit the pause button and reflect for a little bit. One learned to ask “what makes me happy?” Another major lesson is that supply chains are fragile and we can’t expect Amazon to get you that random costume within one day.

On the personal front, I learned to value myself more and to ignore the hateful people who run about here and there. Often, they hate because their hearts are empty. That’s outside of my realm of control. Can’t stay stuck in the tar pits. Let’s see what lessons 2022 brings us.