The first Saturday of the New Year, and I thought we’d chalk some Billy Shakes.
Today’s quote comes from The Tempest, which has quietly become my favorite of his plays. The Bard is telling us that everything that has happened so far is just the setup. The story that matters is the one coming up next.
The past matters, but it shouldn’t define the ending. The past has broadened our strokes with every lap around the block we have taken. It has given us common sense and street smarts. It has also taught us how to love, and unfortunately, how to hate.
We have learned our routines, and when we dare to step outside of them, we learn something new about ourselves.
Experience should become our foundation, not our burden. Life is still being written every day. Sometimes it feels like writer’s block, but if we are willing to keep showing up, the story keeps growing one line at a time.
That short quote up on the Chalkboard reminds us to honor where we have been, but we sure as hell aren’t quite done just yet.
I woke up just before 2:22 a.m. to the smell of cigarette smoke. When that happens, it is usually my Ma paying a visit from heaven. Her way of letting me know she is still around.
Being up early gave me a front-row seat as the January Full Moon lit up the cloud cover. With a little luck, the clouds will break and I will catch a glimpse of the first supermoon of 2026. Jupiter is sliding across the sky, keeping close company next to the Wolf Moon.
If not this morning, we will get another shot Saturday night into Sunday morning.
The weather corner on the Morning Chalkboard doesn’t have a smiling sun today. Cold and cloudy over my neighborhood, but that is alright. I’m heading to the diner for breakfast with my boys, then off for haircuts. A small ritual we have been doing recently. One that will someday turn into a fond memory for the Shepley brothers.
Because the past will be their prologue too.
Go find astonishment and gusto today, you gorgeous Chalkheads.
