Adios, 2024!

December 31, 2024

Another year, come and gone.  And my oh my, was it a doozy.

Historically, even years have not always been my favorite.  It's a superstition that I glommed onto when I was a teenager, which still hangs around in the back of my mind.  It's a way to write off 'unlucky' events and bad decisions due to some numerological cause.  Blame the Fates, perhaps.

But, as I age, it's not lost on me that the odd years have just as many 'palm-to-forehead' moments.  Despite that, my outlook is more positive and I don't seem to weigh them with the burden of expectation.  I'm more apt to flow through these moments without surprise, trusting that all will be right in the end.

So here's to finishing out 2024 knowing that the beeps and boops and blips were only that.  We've all learned a little bit more about life, our partner, our friends, our children, and our community.  With that extra information, we can pull the people we love a little bit closer in the coming year, and lean into the ideas that set our souls on fire.

In lieu of New Years' Resolutions, I've made a list of things that I appreciate and love.  I'm hoping that giving them the loving shoutout they deserve will bind them to me and fill up my existence, slowly crowding out the things that don't bring me joy.  Manifest much?

1. I appreciate and love my children for the small wonders they are.  The way they keep me present and challenge my beliefs about the world deepens my existence in ways I didn't know possible.
2. I appreciate and love my partner for expanding my understanding of love and what it means to be unconditional.
3. I appreciate and love my family and friends for their unwavering support and love.
4. I appreciate and love my sister.  She is a magical badass and I am blessed to conspire with her, work with her, and sort through life's mysteries with her... Especially the appropriate interpretive dance moves for a snowy drive home.
5. I appreciate my community and the village that raises my children and me.
6. I appreciate my health for the wonderful journey it is... constantly surprising me with new side quests.
7. I love and appreciate all the women of the world who embrace one another, look out for one another, and work to create meaningful change.
8. I appreciate anyone who looks at the world and sees something beautiful that they can add with their art or their words or their care.
9. I love the world I'm a part of, for all of its flaws and imperfections.  I appreciate what is possible and that change is both inevitable and infinite.  Though we may not see it every day, when we look back in time, it's amazing how far we've come.

Wishing you and your loved ones the happiest of New Years.  May 2025 be filled with blessings and a little extra odd-year luck!

Also in ELEVATED EDIT by The Collective