On the home-front, it was a year of much anxiety and celebration. A year of feeling whelmed in all shapes and forms. It was a year of supreme selfishness and break taking, and yet one with an outpouring of love and laughs. I've been grateful for all the support from all fronts.
So, here's a quick bop back into the past 365:
Content Consumption: A great distraction from one's own responsibilities is enjoying the work of others. This year saw some major finales in TV (Game of Thrones - farewell to our meat & mead nights!) and film (MCU phase 1, the latest Star Wars trilogy, etc.). I consumed several more books via our I'm-shocked-it's-still-about-books Book Club. Two must-see shows were seen, when my mom and I hit up concerts for both Cher and Elton John (not together - that double act would literally kill the audience with hits). And, after spending years joking about how impossible it was to get tickets, we finally got the tickets and went to see Hamilton.
Celebration of Others: From baby showers to birthings to baptisms. From many a birthday bash to a grad party or two. Supporting loved ones through moves and divorces, celebrating housewarmings and new beginnings. Giving a surprise-can-you-give-a-speech-in-an-hour speech for my mom's well-earned retirement. Witnessing not one but TWO book launches, as I saw the people who said they were going to write their novel actual write and publish their novels (go buy them here and here - to support your own collection of good-books and those dream-doers). And of course, a big celebration of love for the weddings of various friends this year (including a trip literally to the other side of the planet to witness one of my very dearest friends marry the love of her life).
Celebration of Life: Wing nights / hot sauce challenges. Another full-house Passover Seder. A Halloween party in which we actually had a couples costume-ish. Many a family brunch. Much happy houring with old coworkers and very old friends. A growing Friendsgivinukkah bunch. And many more. As much as I spent the year hiding from people, with my head down wedding planning, we still squeezed in a lot of small moments of joy with some of our nearest and dearest - and it was so very nice.
Celebration of Us: I'm not even going to pretend it wasn't a big year for Andy and I as a dynamic duo. The year was an evolution of us as a couple as we planned one of the biggest parties we'll ever throw. I spent many months as a ball of anxiety and he was a steadfast rock, as always. I tried to keep our health and happiness top of mind and work through all we could in advance to make our big day spectacular. Along the way, leading up to the wedding itself, we celebrated our fifth anniversary, were showered with love for various events, and both survived our bachelor(ette) outings. Having so much love pour in to celebrate our love made for such a fun filled year, and one big day that I'll never forget. We're officially an us now forever!
Some Travels: Work trips to NYC, Chicago and Minnesota kept me moving in a year in which my job title changed yet again. And while we said we would take the year off travelling to save/prep for our own wedding, we found ourselves taking a big adventure to Thailand to be a part of another beautiful wedding. It was the first time either of us had been to Asia and was literally the farthest from home I've ever been (#SamwiseGamgee) - and I think I'm still processing just how fascinating it was. We also traveled a bit more locally, as we took a brief mini-moon in the days after the wedding and later spent several days down in Chicago while my love ran his second marathon.
Etc: I did a full dive into my closet, which will now have to be redone since I'm back to my tiny bob hair, post-wedding! Reported for jury duty for the first time in my life (and spent a glorious day relaxing in a waiting room). Spent many months wedding planning and feverishly hunting for bargains. Dug deep into our finances as we set our sights on combining. Spent a good deal of time being a recluse. Got caught in my own head and lost for days at a time. Rediscovered my candy addiction but also chipped away at some weight loss leading up to our big day (don't worry, I found it again since lol).
This year, I focused really hard on trying to lay low and keep stress levels minimal, and yet somehow we were rather busy anyways. It seems a strange year to look back on since it was filled with such very high highs and yet also some extreme lulls. It felt very much like a turning point year, and I'm leaving it feeling exhausted and excited. Cheers to the turn of a new decade: the '010s held my 20s, and so the '20s shall hold my 30s, with a new name, and the next chapter in this book that now holds two lead characters instead of just my one. Wishing everyone a brilliant start to the year ahead.
