Another year under the sun. After doing a birthday meditation this morning, I was inspired to appreciate the amazing life I have by reflecting on some milestones, highlights, experiences, and lessons during this past year. There is no particular order or significance, and it is impossible to include every little memory and moment from last year. I pretty much went through my camera roll from last May and took some time to remember and pull some pictures. This reflection spans the following dates: May 2022 – May 2023

Travel milestones

• Iceland with kids ~ June of 2022
• Maine as a family ~ July of 2022
• Poland – alone to visit a close friend ~ August 2022
• Virginia with kids: Shenandoah National Park ~ November 2022
• Denmark with kids ~ April of 2023
• New Jersey Shore: all summer long

Celebrations, big and small

We celebrated both kids’ birthdays, St. Patrick’s Day, friends’ birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, Summer Solstice, as well as the start of the new school year. Let’s not forget Halloween and our 10-year wedding anniversary! In essence, any celebration is well remembered. Celebrations get us out of the daily grind. They stop the hamster wheel and anchor us in time an space.

Experiences and Little Things (Good and Bad) that “Stuck” in my Memory

• On my flight to Poland, I was sitting next to a person who worked as an interpreter. She was afraid of flying and asked for a glass of wine before take-off. I had one as well.
• Pressing a “make now” button on this blog and feeling my insides shrivel
• My whole family was so sick this school year (COVID, flu, bronchitis, multiple non-stop colds, and GI)
• Saying goodbye to Joanna at 3AM before getting into Uber to catch a flight home
• The smell of my son’s hair (ongoing)
• Cutting my cats’ ingrown claws (scary and I was careful not to hurt her). All is well.
• Mornings with L when she comes downstairs and sits with me while I meditate and journal
• Making a “summer poster” as a family
• Seeing L greet the parents (in Spanish!) during her pre-K bridging ceremony
• Walking under a real waterfall in Iceland with L and R
• Getting caught in a crazy thunderstorm at the beach
• Being disappointed when we had zero snow days this past winter
• Falling asleep to an audio book when I had that terrible flu at the beginning of December
• Not being able to bring the kids to Russia due to the war that’s still going on
• Planting seeds in flower boxes
• Trick or Treating around the neighborhood
• Picking a tree and decorating it together!
• Making heart cookies for Valentine’s Day

Books That Stayed with Me

Overwhelmed was so validating to me. As I was reading I was nodding along and ended up highlighting the crap out of this book. The timing was also perfect- November, when the new school year energy wore off and the holidays were still far away.

The Miniaturist was incredible. Finished it in four days, during our trip to Maine.

Walking in Winter was applicable to me since I am approaching the middle age (maybe I’m already there?) Plus I love Cheryl’s writing- it’s like a good friend is talking to you.

Shauna’s book nurtured my interest in mindfulness and being really present with whatever is happening. Favorite quote from the book is this: “Present over perfect living is real over image, connecting over comparing, meaning over mania, depth over artifice.”

Between Two Kingdoms made me want to suck all the juices out of life, but not in a destructive way, but by way of regular travel, reading, being with people I love, and taking opportunities that I may not otherwise have taken.

Estado de Malestar was a book that I read in Spanish during being sick with COVID back in September. The author is Norwegian, and the book came out in Spanish before coming out in English. I decided to challenge myself. And although I teach Spanish for a living, part of me thought: “this is too difficult for you, it will be a lot of cognitive work.” And I was right. BUT, as I progressed through the book, it became easier and easier to understand.

Birthday celebration itself was modest (exactly how I like it these days) with cake and sushi. Very grateful to all who reached out, I love you all.