Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful holiday! We celebrated Christmas with our family and it was an amazing day.
2022 was a pretty amazing year overall. It brought big changes. When I look back at everything that happened, I'm pretty proud of myself. More than anything, though, I feel extremely grateful.
Let's start at the beginning of the year.
After feeling pretty miserable and unfulfilled in my current job, and after a couple of job interviews that led nowhere, a job opening came up in January. It wasn't what I was originally looking for. I honestly thought that I wasn't qualified enough and I'll be honest, I was scared. The job felt too big and overwhelming. However, each week when I checked for job opportunities, that position was sitting there and I felt like it was calling to me. After many sleepless nights, I decided that it couldn't hurt to interview. I'm so happy that I took the chance. I work with an incredible team and I get to work 100% remotely. As I had predicted, there were a lot of things I needed to learn, but instead of feeling scared and overwhelmed, I found myself excited. I've learned so much in the almost 10 months that I've been in the position, and when I think back to when I almost didn't apply for the job? I truly believe the Universe was speaking to me and I'm so grateful that I listened.
Several months later, I made another life-changing decision - with my husband this time. We decided to sell our house and downsize to a smaller house in a new community. You can read about that experience here.
We moved in late July and spent the rest of the summer settling in and enjoying our new digs. Then in September, we were hit with some terrible news: David's stepmom passed away suddenly. We made a trip to Ohio for the visitation and funeral. It was both heartwrenching and inspirational to see how many people loved Vicki. She had so many close family members and friends. She was loved by the community. She had so many people come to the services to pay their respects.
Around the same time, I also found out that my mom passed away alone in her home. There were no services per her wishes. My mom and I were estranged; we hadn't spoken for about 10 years. I always knew the day would come when she would die and I always wondered how I would handle it. It turns out that I had done most of my grieving when our relationship severed. I still felt sad when I heard the news, but mainly I felt nothing. Then I felt guilty for feeling nothing. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I want to write a post about it, but I just don't feel ready yet. I may never be ready. I know it will open up a can of worms that I closed peacefully long ago. Why rehash it?
Suffice it to say, the weeks following the deaths of my stepmom-in-law and my mom were difficult. I had a lot of emotions I was trying to deal with. I think I finally came to a moment of peace when I stopped at our local animal shelter and made a donation in my mom's name. She loved animals, especially cats, and so by making that donation, I felt like I could do some sort of positive tribute and have a sense of closure. It helped so much.
Fall came and I started attending a local book club as a means of getting out and meeting people. I immediately connected with two people and I went home and told David, "I think I've made some new friends."
David and I got our backyard ready for the upcoming winter. Neither he or I have any gardening experience, but we're learning. We can't wait to see what comes up in the springtime. We miss our outdoor patio happy hours, but I must admit, we enjoy watching the birds at the feeders, which we keep filled during the cold wintry months. The snow looks gorgeous.
I started this blog in November after a long hiatus from blogging. My granddaughter was due to arrive soon and I wanted a way to document my continuing fitness and wellness journey while embracing my new role as a grandma.
On December 20, we got the greatest phone call we could ever get: my daughter was in labor! Leia Marie arrived shortly after 6:00 p.m. She is so tiny! And beautiful, of course. Both she and my daughter are doing well and our family couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present. Spending Christmas Day with Leia as an addition to our family meant the best Christmas ever for all of us. Here is a picture of our little Princess Leia:
I cannot wait to see what 2023 brings! Hopefully lots of new adventures, family time, grandbaby snuggles, new friends, new experiences, and new workouts!
Comments