There’s a song by Tim McGraw that I really love.
In it, he sings about all the mistakes (and successes) he made during his first thirty years of life — and what he’d like to do differently in the next thirty.
As my six-month Nome-iversary draws near, I’ve been thinking about that song and how it relates to my own halfway point. So to commemorate the Big Six, and the end of another calendar year, I wrote this little tribute poem:
My Next Six Months
I think I’ll take a moment to celebrate December
My six-month anniversary and the solar end of winter
Now it’s time to focus in on where I go from here
Try to make sense of my next half year
In my next half year, I’m going to have some fun
Try to forget about all the foolish things I’ve done
Like get too close to muskox or delete an interview
I can do it better before this year is through
In my next half year, I’m going to balance out the score
Whine a little less, sleep a little more
Find ways to get creative with the stories that I tell
Pay attention to reporters who do it oh-so-well
In my next half year, I’m going to get outside
Eat a few more salads and take snow machine rides
Drink a little orange juice and not so much caffeine
Maybe by next summer I’ll still have a spleen
The next half year will be my best months spent in Nome
Get even more familiar with my near-Arctic home
Place a few more phone calls to the ones that I hold dear
Make the most of my time here, in the next half year
