2023 in 11 Pictures: A Retrospective
please note: this year was mostly full of the ushe; the mundane/hard/routine/sad/normal/boring parts of life. This is a highlight reel.
My dad celebrated a Big Birthday at the beginning of the year in the best way: taking his kids and grandkids skiing.
I celebrated my birthday in the best way: with tacos and tequila.
Annual trip to Indy with friends for Cake Bake. (Aren’t they gorgeous?) I also go for the company.
N (my oldest) swam in two big meets. We did our first college visit. Yes, I tried not to cry, but did a little, at both.
Spring break where we didn’t know the biggest dump trucks on the planet[1] would be moving sand for a beach restoration project in front of our house from 7am-6pm every day. We still managed to enjoy ourselves.
LONDON. No notes.
Taylor Swift! (with N). 11/10. Five stars, would give more if possible. Will come back. Highly recommend.
“Quattro-Cinco” weekend with friends I’ve known since elementary school. This trendy little restaraunt’s menu’s font was so small, and where they sat us was so dark, two of the five of us pulled out readers, at least one turned on our phone’s flashlight. Nothing says middle-aged like …
Annual OBX trip with Chris’ family.
Cape Cod to visit family. Whale watching, old family stories, lobster. A true delight. We hadn’t gone since the summer before we adopted V, anticipating at least a year or two of a wait for a match. Half a year later, we were in China. Life has been so busy lately, but we really wanted to make the time for this trip. It was so sweet to return with her, seven years later—especially with lobster rolls on Nauset Beach at sunset.
Chicago! Meeting women I’ve known and worked and written with online for years, for the very first EXHALE retreat. Notice how I just make my own little row in the middle.
This exercise, though common and yes, lots of people do it, helped me to not only see see how full our lives were last year, and are in this season, but each picture not shown took me to a particular moment in time, and I could so easily remember “oh, I felt this way then” and “yes, that unpictured things was also going on there.” Going into a new year, this allowed me to really appreciate just how much normal life happens—is necessary?—in between these highlighted moments.
It looks like all I do is travel to hang out with friends and eat, but I purposely didn’t share much from my daily family life, since my kids are older and don’t love to be featured—nor does my husband. So the unpictured highlights: warm sleepy children cuddling up to me in the early morning on the couch, me kissing soft cheeks, scruffy lips kissing mine, a teenage boy allowing me to give him a hug, the nights eating around our dinner table as a family of six, the ones where we’re all laughing and enjoying being together and I have this overwhelming moment of joy where I am so thankful I could burst and want to freeze time—because it won’t be like this a year from now.
This last year was full of so much grocery shopping, meal planning, laundry folding, hours spent at work, hours spent at home working, the driving, the conversations, the concerns about money, the cooking and counter wiping, the doctor and dentist and orthodonist appointments, and all of the other stuff that takes up most of my time. And then there are these special events.
All of it has purpose. All of it is necessary. And all of it is good.
[1]
So peaceful.
“And all of it is good” amen!
HA the footnote and the truck! Loved seeing these moments in your year. And so grateful I got to meet you this year!!