The Goldenrod Chronicles, Make Time

MAKE ALL THE TIME! MAKE ALL THE THINGS

Hi & Hello,

Feels like that good ol’ writing energy is back. How do I know? I just know. (I can feel it in my veins.) Perhaps it’s because the earliest hints of dawn light rise out my bedroom window before 7 am now. Or maybe it’s just because everything is cyclical and so here we are.

But…maybe it’s because I just discovered Substack has a POLL feature and a SURVEY feature!!!! Hello, what?! The only thing I like better than writing is making surveys for other people to fill out because THAT’S MY IDEA OF FUN! (No, really, it is.)

I love surveys. I have always loved surveys. And by that I mean when I was in high school, I conned our school administration and our school counselor to let me conduct a survey of student drug usage on campus? Yup, someone let me design, hand write, photocopy, distribute via our advisor sessions, collect, and analyze a full survey of our whole campus. In high school. IRB WOULD NOT APPROVE.

(*Would you believe me if I told you our school counselor was Dr. Drew? I don’t know if I believe me. But, also did you know that Dr. Drew wrote a book called The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America in 2009. Ahem.)

So, here’s a quick poll. AND also there’s a full-on, real survey at the end of this missive. What could be better?

BACK TO THE REALLY GOOD STUFF THOUGH: MAKE TIME

Each year, to help provide a little structure and inspiration to get us through 12 months/365 days, I/we create a theme for the year and then unique little prompts or nugget for each month. AND…

It’s time to go back to the beginning and MAKE TIME.

You heard right. The overarching theme for the whole year is MAKE TIME. Of course, that means another full year to think about all of the ways we can make time and also all the ways to use that time we’ve made. (Should I re-post some original Make Time inspiration from the wayback machine?)

Not only is our grand theme going to be Make Time - but each month will get its own little make-imbued essence. Using more concrete words: Let’s pick out a common phrase that includes the word MAKE for each month of the year!

See below my first brainstorm of common phrases including the word MAKE! There are so many! The word make is so ACTION-ORIENTED! So palpable! I can just SEE myself doing each of the things below! Also, kudos to reader Abra who caught the sneaky request for ideas recently and sent a WHOLE BUNCH of new ideas.

Why am I sharing this half-baked and very messy collection of lists? Because I want to hear from you! Which of these “make” phrases do you love? And which deserve a spotlight for one month this year? Take a gander, and drop your notes (or anything!) in the comments

At first blush, the terms in the purple box above are my favorite. But then again there are just so many good turns of phrase that include the word MAKE!

See! So many fun and idea-sparking phrases! Folks who have been around for a while, you know I love ANYTHING with a double meaning or a term that makes a great metaphor. (These are all so fun!)

I had so many ideas they didn’t fit on the first two pages. So here you get the green box of ideas too. My favorite being cat fur to make kitten britches which I had never heard until doing this research. Is this phrase familiar to you?

And last, BUT DEF NOT LEAST - Abra’s very nice list below. 💛🧡

So /// what do you think? Any favorites you love that can help pare down this very long and messy list? Anything make you go hmmm? Let me know in the comments. I’ll share a list for the year when it’s done. And anyone who is in paid subscriber status in January will receive some sort of fun print version of the list IN THE MAIL! 📬

And (as promised / as threatened) Substack does have a new survey feature and I can’t resist using it. Here’s a brand new, never before seen, highly scientific survey for you.

Time for me to make like a tree and leaf,
vanessa