It’s my last night of #43 and I must say, it has been a very good year. A year of love and a year of growth, which is a fabulous way to spend a year. I made some incredible memories. Had a lot of fun. Learned a lot about myself.
It wasn’t my most successful year professionally. It was largely spent in a small rental house while we remodel. But when I look back, I believe I made the most of #43, which is what I expect of myself.
A list of lessons is somewhat trite, but on my mind tonight. It’s nice to capstone the year and then….look forward. With excitement. With passion. With energy. For making the absolute most of #44. I will say I keep thinking I’m on the verge of a breakthrough – which is incredibly exciting.
But first….a summary of #43.
1. Family is my everything. Nothing brings me more joy than my kids. I love them so much my heart could break. I don’t write much about my family because this is my blog, not theirs, and they are old enough to have opinions on such things. But rest assured, this year I treasured every moment with my kids. As they get older, you really do realize how time is fleeting and every moment with them is a gift. I also had three super special moments with my original family. We all spent a week together in San Diego over the holidays, my mom and sister’s joined me for a long week-end in Charleston, and we just spent a week together in my hometown. Special memories from each trip. I’m the family planner and it brings me great joy to see everyone come together and have a great time. My recent trip home was planned around a surprise birthday celebration for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary and the time I spent planning it was so worthwhile. Such fun to see people you love surprised, surrounded by their best friends and family, and celebrated for a wonderful life.
2. Vacation is good for the soul. I was fortunate to enjoy lots of vacation this year. Starting off with three weeks in California last August (where I was inspired to start this blog), to a trip to Arizona with neighborhood friends, to a reunion trip to my college town, to the family trip over the holidays, to Hawaii with my husband, to Palm Desert for spring break with my family. This summer we’re staying closer to home and this week we’re enjoying a week in Sunriver, Oregon. With each vacation, I spend time reflecting and recharging. Reading books that are good for the soul. Or that you can simply get lost in. Ideally sitting in the sun. Eating great meals and drinking fun drinks. Going for a run in a beautiful location. I’m embracing the energy that comes from vacation – I return to real life happier and more energetic. Vacations can also be simple – a simple walk in the woods, a run around a lake, a quick trip to a local island, or appreciating the beauty that surrounds us each day. As much as I love a real vacation, I am also trying to carry the spirit of vacation forward into every day life.
3. Creative energy is awesome energy. My creative side has been in overdrive this year with side hustles galore. I have loved this little blog and always wish I carved out more time to write. Quietly. Peacefully. With uninterrupted focus. This is hard! Our rental house is small, my family is busy, and with a full-time career, writing windows are hard to come by. But I have tried. And I will keep trying. Because I am reminded how much I love to write. My house remodel has also been an unexpected source of creative energy. I dove head-first in to the planning and as we near the finish line, I can’t wait to see the completed project. I didn’t hire a designer, so all of the finishes and design of the house have been mine. This required a ton of research, Pinteresting, blog reading, shopping and spreadsheet creation. But it has been so fun to tap into my creative side and create my dream house. A designer likely would have done it differently. And likely better. But I love the challenge of creating my dream house. The perfect house for my family. I found a real love for this type of creativity and while my dream house will be complete, there will still be many small projects I can’t wait to dive into.
4. It’s good to put yourself first. This one took perhaps 40+ years to realize. A pleaser at heart, I’ve realized the importance this year of keeping yourself at the forefront. Not in a spectacularly selfish way, but in an I matter in this universe way. Even if I’m a mom. And a wife. And a friend. And a devoted employee. Because each of us on earth have the opportunity to create the life we want. And the responsibility to shepherd it, cultivate it, protect it and make it meaningfully special. Carving out time for yourself and what makes you happy is so important. I’ve found I’m a better me when I do this. And I’ve worked this year to respect my spot on the calendar. Prioritize things that bring me joy. It’s OK – and in fact, important – to say “yes” to what you want in life. And if you aren’t sure – you seek it, pursue it, and keep striving until you are.
5. Friends make me happy. So much fun with friends this year and yet still not enough. It’s been a challenging year in that our rental house is really too small for entertaining. I love to entertain and can’t wait to get back more space to invite my favorite people over. I designed our front porch, open floor plan, and outdoor living area with entertaining in mind and can’t wait to throw open the doors to our friends and neighbors. But I’ve enjoyed some really special moments this year. Morning runs with my girlfriend. A girls week-end with my book club on Whidbey Island. Reuniting with girlfriends in California, Arkansas, and Missouri. Another girls week-end with my mom friends to celebrate the end of school. If anything, the more time I spend with girlfriends, the more time I crave. So good for the soul. I love talking for hours. Laughing over everything and nothing. I have a real-life sleep-over in a few weeks with some old colleagues, who became dear friends, and I cannot wait.
6. Setting specific goals and working toward them is meaningful. This one came to me via running. I set a goal to run a marathon at the start of 2018 and I’m on my way. I ran my first half marathon in years in March and my next long run is 14 miles. Right on path for the New York City Marathon in November. I’ve always wanted this to be my first marathon. And it’s going to be. Whether setting an athletic goal and working back, or choosing ten books to read in a summer, setting a goal is a great way to ensure you make forward progress. I have several goals for the year ahead. I’ve found they need to be specific. Require planning. And accrue to something that is meaningful to be worthwhile. But a few stretch goals at a time is a great way to live. It pushes you to do new things. Take a few risks. And see what you can do in life.
7. There is so much to learn. I am having such a good time with my personal renaissance. It started last year when my boss encouraged me to embrace learning as part of my job. I found the more I read, the more I learned. The more inspiration I found. The more my creativity was recharged. The more I realized how much more there was to learn in life. This year I read a lot. A lot. I largely stopped watching TV, except for a few favorite shows. I spent way less time on my phone and social media. Instead, I read. And read some more. I should do a round up of my favorite books of the year because some of them I found to be life-changing. For real. I’ve been reading so much I’m actually behind in writing blogs inspired by my reading. But I will catch up. There is so much goodness to share.
8. I am freaking strong. This one I hesitate to share, but in the spirit of comprehensiveness, this year I was reminded that I am one tough cookie. I had a very bad day this year. Like, a really, really bad day. The kind of day that brought me to my knees with pure sadness, followed by terror and stress. It started with an unexpectedly terrifying and shocking diagnosis for my daughter, which I have yet to write about. Someday, perhaps. That moment required waiting several more months for test results – months that could have been debilitating with worry. On that same day, just a few hours later, I received the call that ultimately led to a false breast cancer scare. But the initial call was terrifying. And made me seriously question my own mortality for the first time in my life. Then, unbeknownst to the first two items, my beloved nanny of the last six years gave notice to quit her job. Now, any working parent that relies on a nanny knows they make the world go round. It was three strikes. Such a bad day. I know there can be worst days. But in my life, this was one of the worst. But I also was reminded that I am strong. And I have really great people that I can rely on when the chips are super down. And ultimately, it all worked out just fine – across all three items. It did take months for a few of them to play out though. So I will remember #43 for strength I found.
Looking forward, I am so excited for #44! Four has been my lucky number since middle school and this year I get to be double digit 4’s!! I am going to set some specific goals. Live this year with intention. Work toward the right purpose for my time on this earth. And make sure I have the right balance of family, friends and fun. There are so many more incredible moments to be had and memories to be made. I’m ready.
The Redefining 
Lisa, I always enjoy your blog
LikeLike