Mission MMXXIV

Did you try to pronounce the title? Mishon Mmmkssiv… Or did you realize that MMXXIV is 2024 in Roman numerals? Welcome to day nine of the year MMXXIV, Bloganuary challenge number 9, and old house journaling challenge number 527. Those are our coordinates. But where from here? Today’s Bloganuary prompt invites me to respond clearly, succinctly, definitively about the journey ahead. I promise to try my best!

What is your mission?

My Rosslyn Redux mission is in a state of flux, fluid like a river, perennially redirecting, flowing over and around, effecting everything in its path. From the early days, not too long after we purchased and began revitalizing Rosslyn’s buildings and grounds, up through the last year and a half of daily introspection, the mission of this sprawling digital amalgamation has proven itself to be protean and exploratory. Wondering. Wandering.

A quick glimpse at the most recent evolution(s) best prologues my Rosslyn Redux mission today.

A personal quest to post an update each day without fail for one year, journaling deep into our Rosslyn story in the hopes of ascertaining what comes next.

(Source: One Year of Daily Journaling!)

I wrote that veiled mission on August 1, 2023, exactly one year after setting out on a personal challenge to write, reflect, and reframe my relationship with Rosslyn, our home.

My mission in resuscitating Rosslyn Redux had changed from the website I’d originally created as an historic rehab scrap book. On August 1, 2022 I anticipated entering into a thoughtful, protracted, and in depth conversation with Susan and Rosslyn about home and “homeness”; a meditation on my relationship with a property that I’d originally envisioned as a 2-4 year rehab; and a catalyst for transformation — transforming my relationship with Rosslyn, in particular, and my relationship with home, in general, while attempting to let go and move on.

Catharsis. Combinatorial creativity. An experiment combining words, images, and whatever else might prove useful in order to grapple with my experience and feelings about a home that so totally captivated us that we joyfully, willfully allowed that original 2-4 year time line to more than quadruple. What had we actually been looking for? And what had we actually found?

In that one year anniversary update I had achieved a little more clarity about what lay ahead. On the one hand, it was clear to me that I wanted to continue the daily practice. As a writer who too often delays or postpones writing until all of the “important stuff” is complete, committing to this daily priority had rekindled my passion for writing and my confidence in what I could accomplish when I re-prioritized my days. It was 100% clear to me that I wanted to extend the challenge. And on the other hand, it had become abundantly obvious that I had not yet undertaken some of the most important work. Are we ready to pass Rosslyn on to another family, another homeowner? And, if so, how do we say goodbye?

That post concluded with one of my first real flickers of clarity.

I must now essay to untangle this almost two decade, poignantly entwined threesome [between Rosslyn, Susan, and me.] I will double down, redirecting the discipline I’ve brought to daily dispatches into the real work. Dear Rosslyn, my venture begins anew tonight. I’ll talk with you soon!

(Source: One Year of Daily Journaling!)

I was ready — or at least *almost* ready — to begin a new adventure “consciously uncoupling” from Rosslyn while drawing upon the richness of our years together to guide us toward creating a new home in the Adirondack Coast.

Easier said than done. A little over five months ago the path forward was clear.

I set about writing her a Dear Rosslyn letter (à la Dear John). I’ve written her many! But Rosslyn is wily and beguiling. She responds, reminding me how meaningful this relationship has been, reminding me about all of those poignant experiences that I will miss, reminding me that she has rehabilitated us while we were rehabilitating her,…

Which brings me to now, day nine of the year MMXXIV, day nine of the Bloganuary challenge, and day 527 of my old house journaling challenge.

Mission MMXXIV

Time for transition,
a mission revision
and redefinition, 
personal permission
to finally find
my mission fruition. 

My next Rosslyn Redux mission is untethering and uncoupling, searching for the poetry in separating, transforming a love affair into an artwork, nurturing the wisdom of her years with us into a new sort of home, a new sort of love affair. Mission impossible? I’m hoping to prove otherwise in the months ahead!