Goodbye, 2016!

This year was rough in a lot of ways. I’m not sure I’d go so far as to call it a flaming dumpster fire, like a lot of memes floating around social media, but it definitely presented myriad challenges for me on the political, personal, and work fronts. That being said, 2016 was also awesome in a lot of ways, and it’s worth remembering them rather than dwelling on the negative. One of my friends made that point in a Facebook post and then shared all the wonderful things about her year, and now I’m stealing the idea. Here are some of my favorite highlights from the year:

• Taking Michaela to a variety of entertainment experiences, ranging from Junior Theatre productions to Disney on Ice… to the circus… to a magic show in Las Vegas… to the San Diego Symphony… to a San Diego Ballet performance of “The Firebird”… to Aztec Girls and Women in Sports Day, where she got to interact with female collegiate student-athletes and try her hand at different sports… to Disneyland and the Great Wolf Lodge and the Discovery Nature Center (where Michaela and I got to feed sea turtles!)… to a cooking class at the Melting Pot and a pan de muerto decorating class at a Hispanic supermarket…
• Watching Michaela grow and thrive in school, first in kindergarten and then in first grade. She has learned a lot, matured, made friends, and blossomed!
• Rocking Michaela’s first Girl Scout cookie sales campaign, with more than 100 boxes sold.
• Spending lots of time with Mike’s cousin Maggie, who has a very special bond with Michaela and who we’re so happy to have living in San Diego.
• Going back to my alma mater to participate in an annual “Women and Leadership” event as a panelist with my friend Lee. We have a tradition of making a girls’ trip out of it and spending some quality time together, so it’s extra nice.
• Seeing my dad in his element at the annual classic car swap meet. Mike and I take Michaela each year and walk around and look at cool car stuff and watch my dad show off his granddaughter.
• Putting on a very successful conference for the California School Public Relations Association, which I now serve as president.
• Watching Mike work so hard and his business thriving as a result. He’s added staff and broken new milestones in his billing, not to mention he’s made some amazing videos.
• Taking a Panama Canal cruise with Mike’s mom and stepdad. We made new friends, saw fascinating sites, and visited a lot of places I wouldn’t necessarily otherwise have seen (like Guatemala, which I loved!).
• Cheering Michaela on at two school jog-a-thons.
• Visiting the Spring Garden Festival at Cuyamaca College. I wasn’t expecting much, but it was really cool! Michaela and I visited the Water Conservation Garden, went to a plant sale, ate a nice lunch, and she even got to climb a tall tree (with a harness and safety gear).
• Attending a moving, thought-provoking three-day training at the Museum of Tolerance.
• Camping out at Michaela’s school. My first time sleeping in a tent in the great outdoors!
• Seeing The Cure, Billy Joel, Counting Crows, Rob Thomas, and Morrissey in concert.
• Celebrating birthdays with a variety of friends and family.
• Taking a girls’ trip to New Mexico with Michaela, Mike’s mom, and Mike’s mom’s other granddaughter. I’m convinced we should make it an annual trip!
• Trekking to Chicago and Wisconsin for our second Watson family reunion with Mike’s family. Mike, Michaela and I spent time in the city by ourselves before we headed to Sheboygan to join the 24 other Watsons. It was a great time!
• Hearing Michaela rave about her week at Zoo Camp. In fact, she liked it so much, we sent her for another week!
• Walking the Live Well 5K with Michaela and earning finishers’ medals.
• Attending my 20 year high school reunion. When did I get so old?!?
• Putting Michaela on a plane to Denver all by herself. I was nervous; she was not. She had a blast with Nana and Papa during her time with them!
• Watching a million hours of Olympics coverage.
• Celebrating our 6th Annual Girls’ Trip with three of my best friends from college. This year, we went to Portland, OR.
• Seeing “The Sound of Music” at the Civic Theatre with a friend who I don’t see nearly as often as I’d like to.
• Stuffing my belly full of delicious food at the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners we hosted at our house.
• Toasting Mike and Michaela’s 40th and 7th birthdays (respectively) with a nice dinner at the Melting Pot.
• Taking a wintertime trip with Mike and Michaela to Las Vegas.
• Sharing dinner with neighbors are an annual potluck held by a family on our street.
• Working with a great team of individuals who are deeply committed to doing good work and to making an impact on our organization and the schools we support.

I could go on, but I won’t. Clearly I have a lot to be thankful for. Here’s to an equally fun 2017! Happy new year!