I’ve always loved the idea of a new year. A clean slate, new beginning, the promise of simpler, different, less. I’m not sure, however, that I’ve ever yearned for that more than right now. As I sit in my relatively quiet house (Max and I are the only ones up) and relish in feeling well-rested after happily going to bed well before midnight on New Year’s Eve, I can’t help but appreciate the overwhelming gratitude I have for all that a really difficult year taught us – and all that the promise of a fresh start will bring.
When I think of 2022, my mind envisions the most unapologetic tornado. A spinning, windy, powerful mess of hard with the occasional break in the clouds to let the sun shine through. Chaos, change, healing, fear, the constant pivot. All of it. It wasn’t just the process of a scary surgery for Max, or deciding to pull him out of school. It wasn’t fumbling through finding balance in our schedule with therapy appointments, sports practices for Fletcher, football coaching for Mike and work for me. It wasn’t solely trying to maintain a somewhat organized household (that’s a losing battle most days!), or trying to find a happy medium of time together at home and time with our people. It was all of it – and more,
We aren’t coming out of 2022 unscathed per se, but we’re stronger, healthier, more connected and grateful. I can’t think of a better way to begin a new year to be honest. I’m not suggesting I’d like to experience the lows of 2022 again, but we’re choosing to take the good from the bad and use that as the foundation for this coming year. That feels powerful on some level.
The challenges of this past year helped us experience love on a completely new level. We were loved hard by our families and friends and we felt it. We (I) learned to accept help and support in ways we didn’t know we needed and that forever changed me. We were reminded of the importance of trusting our instincts, that there is no job more important than being relentless advocates for our children, and that it’s okay to not have all the answers…we found beauty in trusting the process.
For 2023 I see light. Less stuff, less chaos, less obligation and most of all, less expectation (that’s the gift I’m giving myself). And as a result, more love, more healing, more presence, more balance and always more gratitude. I wish the same for all of you.