Hardly a year goes by that I don’t write up a reflection for the year. 2023 is no different. As these final weeks and days of this year wind down, I’ve found myself thinking over these past 12 months. What has transpired. What has been joyful and good. What has been difficult and a catalyst for personal growth.

This is one of those years where I feel like I’ve lived multiple lives over the course of 365 days. I’ve been leafing through my planner trying to make sense of the year, to put words to how it all shook out. I kept a running “monthly joys” sheet in my planner as well as a list of the books I read, all of the article titles I wrote, weekly menu plans, to-do lists, and the usual appointment reminders, travel plans, and all of the mundane daily duties and plans that make up a life.

My word for 2023 was gentle. While I think I succeeded in treating myself and hopefully those around me with gentleness, I would hardly describe the year as gentle. It was packed full to the brim. It was full of adventures and boredom. It was full of miracles and the mundane. It was full of busyness and rest.

Here’s some of what will stick with me as highlights from this year. Please indulge my remembrance in no particular order of importance.

Professionally:

2023 was quite a year on the professional front. I began the year in January quickly shifting from part-time reading interventionist to full-time fifth grade teacher. I hope as time goes on that I look back at the spring semester teaching more fondly than I do currently. Without too much elaboration, neither the school nor the job setting was a good fit for me.

However, I feel like this year, more than any other in my life, my writing and freelancing flourished. If the past fifteen or so years of personal blog post writing and slow build up my volunteer and paid writing portfolio were my years of sowing, then 2023 was my year of reaping.

I continued my fourth year of writing for Millie (52 total Agent Intel articles) and added another content gig with United Through Reading (24 articles). In April, I onboarded with Virtual Veterans Communities in more of a permanent role (salaried vs. invoicing per article) and wrote over 55 pieces of content for them between May and December.

I am loving my role there and the work I do marries many of my passions (higher ed, the military community, and content). I work remotely and have a ton of flexibility in my schedule. My team is amazing. All in all, professionally, this year I feel like I’ve stepped into something that putting in the reps of these past years prepared (and rewarded) me for. My little fingers ran a million miles an hour over the keys of my Macbook this year and I loved every single piece I wrote or helped to create.

Kids + Marriage:

Since the inception of sharing life updates online, I find that as the kids all get older, I am sharing less about their personal lives and stories here and on social media. I will say this year was more of a settling year in that everyone was more settled in their current school settings that they were in 2022.

Thomas is loving life in college and we thank God for his protection over his life when he had a very bad car accident early in the year. Mae is thriving during her senior year and it’s hard to believe that we are preparing to launch her into her college experience in a matter of months. 2023 saw Kate squarely in the middle of her high school years and rounding out the third and final officially licensed driver in the home.

As for Ryan, this has been a good year for us. He travels quite a lot for his current job but we have both settled into the rhythm of his comings and goings. We are practicing now for our soon-to-come empty nest by prioritizing date nights a few times a month as well as weekly walking/rucking dates at our nearby nature trail. We have a little alcove off from our bedroom where many evenings we find ourselves sitting in there quietly enjoying each other’s company: him tying fly fishing ties and me reading or journaling. Are we getting old?

Travel:

2023 brought some great travels and adventures for us! In February, the girls and I met another mother/daughter duo for a weekend away in Greensboro, North Carolina. In May I went to Hilton Head with my mom. In June and July we went to Tennessee and enjoyed time with nearly all of our extended families.

In July we went back to Hilton Head for a week of a beach family vacation. In September, Ryan, the girls and I went to Athens, Georgia for an official campus visit and football weekend. In October, I went to New York City (my first time!!!) with my mom, sister, and brother. In a few days we will head to Tennessee again for our family Christmas holiday.

I’m already planning, scheming, and looking to fill the 2024 travel calendar.

Community:

Community is another valuable theme of 2023. For us, a majority of that community centers around our church here, Williamsburg Community Chapel. We led a second round of FPU back in the spring. I’ve met monthly with my mentor, and now friend, Barb. Ryan attends a weekly Friday morning men’s Bible study. The girls volunteer in kids ministry a few times each week and attend Thursday night student ministry. Since the fall, Ryan and I began co-leading a small group. We hardly miss a Sunday. We love, love, love our local church and have been so very blessed by the friendships and connections we have made there in addition to the weekly worship and teaching.

2023 has been a year of trying something new for me as a volunteer in the community. Shortly after we moved here in June of 2022, Roe vs. Wade was overturned. I felt incredible conviction as a Christ-follower that I needed to examine where my beliefs and my actions were currently aligning as someone who values the sanctity of life.

With that in mind, I inquired about becoming a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). It took most of the fall of 2022 to get background checked and complete my official training for the role. In February of this year, I was sworn in by a judge in the Commonwealth of Virginia as a CASA and by March I was assigned to my first case.

I’ve spent the past 10 months getting the privilege of advocating for the best interests of a child in the local foster care system; getting to know her immediate and extended family; making visits, interacting with social services, attending court hearings, and writing many, many reports. I’ll likely write up a longer, more detailed post, but my work with CASA is a TOP highlight of 2023.

I’m grateful for a wonderful year! 2024 will surely bring many changes, challenges, and blessings. I look forward to what lies ahead.