What word describes Palmer’s 2022 year?

First things First—Palmer, we are in a new year-2023. Hopefully we are leaving some of the icky stuff behind and keeping the good stuff. January is a relief because the light is coming back by microseconds and then minutes. All the holiday cheer and fuss is over. And we can be grateful for survival and the basics now. But before we close the book on the recent year, we are going to take a look at a very popular crowd-sourced survey taken unscientifically over the last week. There were hundreds of replies and offerings, both publicly on social media and privately in texts or emails.

Question: What WORD describes Palmer’s 2022 Year?—Because there was a large response, I am collating most of the answers into this newspaper column. I have separated the answers into batches and will be trying to synthesize the general feel of the suggestions.

Big Weather—Without a doubt our Palmer weather always takes priority in most every discussion and 2022 words reflected this ongoing fact of nature. Snowmaggedeon; windpocalpse; wind-again; crazygalehotflashtorrentialblizzard;windswept; wind-tossed; weathered; blowhard; snow-full; cold; ice-joy; flurricane; snowdrift; and weather-tired are just a few of the weather related words of the year. Weather is our close neighbor up here and it affects our sleep habits, ability to travel, barometric mood swings, and nearly everything we do. Let’s not forget our entirely agreeable summer weather in the frontal face of winter weather.

Community—As is always true, the Palmer area is an authentic community. This is articulated by the following suggestions for our 2022 word of the year. Consistency; chaos; best; unstable; cozy; kindness; neighbors; united; wholesome; vibrant; Colony; Braided River; rooted; togetherness; perseverance; love; plucky; wholesome; caring; linemen; volunteers; helpful; growth; quaint; rustical; boon-dock; aware; blinded; changing; bipolar; unspoiled; divided; generosity; and giving. When you look at this list you can see agreement is not 100% and perceptions are different…this in fact is healthy because it means we are continuing to work through attitudinal changes and learn and grow respectfully, with each other.

Personality of the Palmer Year—Many people offered descriptors of their generalized view of the 2022 Palmer year. Here are the responses: excessive; crazy; exhausting; courageous; unique; powerless; enlightening; ridiculousness; purposeful; resilient; eventful; edifying; fight-year; tempestuous; quintessential, safefromharm; motion-full; precipitous; nirvana and unique. It’s definitely been a year. We in Palmer are so fortunate to have our community and nature to sustain us in the face of chaos and disappointment.

Our Palmer View—As always many in the Palmer area live here for our daily views of the world and nature. The Palmer Word of the Year suggestions heartily endorse this reasoning: Sunrises; Sunsets; Ice-magic; Hoarfrost; Mountaintops; Farmfields; Countrified; beauty; serenity; snowglobe; unspoiled; postcard picture; walking-town; parksaplenty; mooseneighbors; and lilac-town. These expressions really don’t vary from year to year because they are our continuous sustenance and our reason for living.

2022 Year Wrapped Up—Now we have gone through the process of summing up last year 2022 and putting it to bed. 2023 Palmer stands waiting fresh in front of us. Hopefully, we will be able to gracefully handle the weather challenges, the wind, the growth of our community, and the differences of our opinions. We will find lost gloves, lost dogs, help elders and babies, stop for the Palmer pedestrians and go for short remarkable hikes. We will eat the food, drink the beer, and share the love of our local providers. And next year this time, we will look back at another year with generous love for the places in Palmer where we all live.

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff in the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222