This isn't a stock photo, I shot it today. Our sons and I hiked up to watch the first sunrise of 2023 this morning.
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I don't know what they were thinking, but I was thinking that optimism might be just as powerful as discipline and commitment. Optimism lets us take on new challenges without realizing how hard they'll be. Optimism lets us do it again, and again, and again even when they didn't work out the last time.
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If resolutions are your thing, optimism is what lets us make them every year, even if they didn't stick last year. But isn't a month of a new resolution every year better than none of that new resolution? A realist might skip resolutions because they won't stick, an optimist will make them over and over again... maybe that's how we make progress.
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Without travel I had a chance to look with new eyes at the things around me. Here are some of my favorite photos from 2020.

It was a strange year. I’m craving new places, people, adventures. Looking back through these photos is bittersweet. There are some wonderful moments captured. Time I spent with my very favorite people ( my husband and our boys), but they also remind me of the days in early March full of agitated uncertainty and yet a confidence that this would all be over in a few months.  10 months later the monotony of it all can feel overwhelming some days.

These are some of my favorite photos of 2020 some because they put me back in a moment of joy and connection, some because I love the photo itself.

Most of the photos I took this year are at home and family, but my family will only tolerate being photographed so much.  Many are of nature, I was forced to practice looking for beauty in my everyday surroundings. A lot are of our dog, he never tires of being photographed.  Finally a few are of the few and far between shoots I had for the podcast and for Spartan Games - all at a distance and all outside - but a welcome variation in my routine.
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Early in the morning, walking the yard before anyone else is up, it could be any early spring day.

But then things get rolling. And the surreal reality we live in reemerges. I won't be taking the kids to school, or lining up a meeting for coffee in town, I won't be scheduling in person shoots and interviews or travel.  I'm still editing & publishing podcasts, still taking the dog out, still enjoying my morning coffee.  New on the list: getting things in order for today's live Zoom call.  Today's guest was Bruce Babashan.  He was one of the most powerful speakers yet.  He talked about how he is coaching his athletes:

Our friend Kressa Peterson, founder of Shower Toga, was on the call too. She has been sending her products free to medical workers and first responders who have been changing and showering outside of their homes so they don't expose their families to the virus.  Processing and verifying requests has become overwhelming emotionally.  She said "I thought I was the kind of person that could handle this...maybe I'm not." In a few seconds both she and Bruce (and many of us) had tears in our eyes.  Even those of us safe at home have been feeling this slow, continuous, build-up of pressure. Bruce told her she is strong enough, and the tears and emotion are sure signs that she is a genuine person and shouldn't change. He shared some stories about fighters - famous ones facing fear each time they go into the ring, and the young athletes he coaches keeping training on track when food and money might be scarce and the future of their sport is uncertain.

Yesterday was Saturday.  What to do Saturday night? We took a walk around downtown Woodstock, Vermont.  Empty as it was, it felt good to get out.  We saw surprisingly few people out walking.  All the shops were closed, for years as a videographer we took extreme measures to could get photos of storefronts without the traffic and cars in the foreground.  Last night it was easy. Many shops are still finding ways to serve (Yankee Bookshop offers porch deliveries, Woodstock pharmacy is serving prescriptions at the door.)

Sometimes attending an event is about taking photographs, capturing it, sometimes attending an event is about the event.  This was about the event.  The photos, I hope, tell the story in spite of that.  A small town, remembering lives lost and honoring the greater principles that give those sacrifices meaning.

There really is nothing better than a sunny spring day on the trails photographing Ultra Runners!  Especially when I get to bring my son as an assistant.  here are a few of my favorites.  There's a collection of about 200 on Peak's Facebook page.

In 1992 I moved to a town of about 500 people, nestled in the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains. In the preceding few years I had moved a lot — Boston, New York City, Chicago, Aspen, Rockport, Maine — I thought I’d only be here for a a season. I was always up for the next challenge and that year I decided staying in the same place would be my challenge. 25 years later I’m still here. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. Some thrive, most can’t hack it. The economy is tough, there aren’t enough people to support most businesses, everything’s closed by 8, it’s a 30 minute drive to the grocery store; and yet I stay.

Life in a small town teaches you surprising lessons: tolerance, humility, self reliance, and to be yourself.

Tolerance.
This comes as a surprise to most people. Small towns look pretty homogeneous from the outside. And in many ways they are. But when I lived in big culturally diverse cities like New York and Boston, I chose who I surrounded myself with. I spent almost all of my time with people that shared my interests and thought like me.

When I first moved here I used to joke “I only have 7 friends, and I don’t even like any of them.” What did I mean? I meant that in the outside world I wouldn’t have chosen any of those people to hang out with.

In a small town you become friends with the people around you, even if they’re different from you. That opens your eyes. And then there are the people you don’t like. You may not like them, but you nod good morning when they hold the door for you, and you thank them the first time they pull your car out of a ditch, or find your runaway dog, and you come to see their humanity.

Humility.
You may feel superior, but you’re not. A small town will teach you that.

Self Reliance.
I remember the time we called the police and they told us there had been a big crash on the highway and the State Troopers wouldn’t be able to come for a few hours. That was a wake up call. But it’s more than that. It’s a culture of doing for yourself and your neighbors, not waiting for the proper authorities.

I’ve written a lot about our town’s experience in Hurricane Irene (www.floodbound.com,) during that storm 10 homes in a town of 500 people were destroyed and the town was completely cut off from the outside world. The height of the storm found neighbors cutting and clearing downed trees to try to save the bridge, and others cooking and setting up hot food to support them. It wasn’t anyone’s job, it was just something that needed to be done. The town had no school, police or hospital but had acting sheriffs, a school on the green, and a medical center in our one room library staffed by doctors, nurses, PAs and even ski patrollers.

The power company said it would be weeks before they reached us, what they didn’t know was that we would reach them. Our residents stepped up and started fixing roads.

It’s a simple concept. If you see something that needs to be done, and you have the ability, you do it.

Be yourself.
In bigger towns I had my work self, my home self, my school self, and probably some others. Remember the Seinfeld episode where “worlds collide?” In a small town there is only room for one version of you. There’s no use pretending. It’s freeing. If they like you, they like you. You as you are. They’ve already seen your mistakes.
Will I stay here another 25 years? I don’t know, it might be time for another change. But whatever I decide, this place has made and indelible imprint on me for the better.

**originally published in Medium**

Abigail Sera is a true Spartan. A friend talked her into trying her first Spartan Race in Killington, she signed up in the open category but ended up with a better time than most of the pros. That didn't change anything for her, she went back to work patrolling Vermont by snowmobile in winter and by boat in summer.  Last winter I traveled to her family farm in Vermont to meet and interview her.  Now you'll see  her in this season's NBC coverage of the Spartan Race series and Spartan's latest lifestyle commercials.

Next time you see me ask me to tell you the rabbit story...

You might not know that Madmotion is located in the tiny town of Pittsfield Vermont (pop 427), and that our town was one of many along the Green Mountains hit hard by Irene.  
Many of our friends have been looking for reports on our family and our community after flood damage cause by irene.  The damage was significant.  In a town of 430 people, 9 homes were lost completely, many other homes and roads were damaged, and the town was cut off from the outside world.  We were spared the loss of family, friends and neighbors, and began rebuilding immediately

Hard working volunteers in this town have done amazing things.  We cry sometimes because we cannot believe the strength and generosity of our neighbors, sometimes because we are tired and overwhelmed.  We laugh, for the same reasons.

Crews have worked day and night to patch roads, reach stranded people, set up a makeshift medical facility, check on neighbors, cook meals, set up "school" every day on the green, get supplies into town, shore up neighbors homes, sort through water damaged belongings, organize propane and gasoline distribution, hand out foor and water, slog through paperwork and much much more.

This community that was always self reliant, strong, ingenious and generous has proven itself (like so many other Vermont towns) to be even more so when faced with challenge.  So take that Irene!

UPDATE: 9.6.11 - here's a VPR report from our town today ​https://archive.vpr.org/vpr-news/pittsfield-still-largely-cut-off-by-road/

"Vermont is a state I love... I love Vermont because of her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all, I love her because of her indomitable people. They are a race of pioneers who almost impoverished themselves for love of others. If ever the spirit of liberty should vanish from the rest of the Union, it could be restored by the generous share held by the people in this brave little State of Vermont." ~Calvin Coolidge, after the floods of 1927 

Last week the Professional Firefighters of Vermont invited me to join them for lunch at their annual convention.  They presented me with the 1st place award we won for their Fire ops 101 video at the national IAFF Video Awards. It's been a pleasure and an honor to work with them, and hope for more projects in the future.

We really loved working with the Professional Firefighters of Vermont (PFFV) on their latest project.  Two years ago the video we created for them won First Place in the Special Projects category at the International Association of Fire Fighter Media Awards.  

This year's project was a great collaboration.  

Today our little Tweed River here in Pittsfield was "awful mad."  

Enjoy :30 seconds of the raging river that was in our backyard today.

I am so proud of the 4 Emmy nominations we earned for our work on Vermont Spotlight.  In our first year in business as Vermont Spotlight we've created 18 short videos and two half hours shows.  We didn't take home a statue this year, but we feel we're off to a great start and are grateful to our friends who continue to encourage us. 

We have assembled a great team, it has been a pleasure to work with Kelley and Doug Lewis and with our assistant Traci on these videos spotlighting some of Vermont's gems

New England Emmy Nominations!
Madmotion principal Marion Dane Abrams was nominated in both the Photographer and Editor categories for her work on Vermont Spotlight's half hour show "Resort Spotlight."  Also nominated was Vermont Spotlight host Kelley Lewis.  Of course the show requires more than just Marion and Kelley to come together.  Behind the scenes and making all this possible are co-host and co-owner Doug Lewis, and our super duper all around assistant and fixer Traci Templeton.

What says Vermont community and reliability better than our classic Town Meetings? We partnered with Stowe, Vermont agency HMC to produce this "Town Meeting" spot for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Vermont.