Happy New Year!

As I get older, I’m noticing how much faster time goes. It feels like it was just 2020 in some ways — I guess because that year was so awful — and yet it’s now 2023. This was our third Christmas without my mom. The third year of COVID. The third year of my 40s. Hmph.

But 2022 was also more kind than the years before it. We traveled a lot (9 countries plus our epic Route 66 road trip), which is my favorite thing to do. Michaela continued to thrive in school and Scouts. Mike’s business continues to chug along, with him finding success and happiness in the professional realm. I got a new team added to my department (bringing my total direct reports to more than 30), and it’s work and people I’m excited about. COVID continues to rage, but I didn’t have to spend all my time on it.

We spent New Year’s Eve with our friends who live a few houses down the street. Gotta love a gathering where the commute home involves a 1-minute walk. We had dinner, played board games, and toasted to East Coast midnight. The following day, we went for a family walk in the morning and later that same family came over for dinner (I made this amazing tomato soup and this delectable cake).

I didn’t make any resolutions, per se. I’m going to try to keep doing the stuff I know I should (exercise, floss, meditate, spend quality time with my family, drink water, etc.) and to stop doing stuff that doesn’t serve me.

I’m hoping 2023 will be a kind year. Kind to me, to my family, to my friends, and to the world. We certainly need it.