looking back {’23 in superlatives}

I almost didn’t get to this post this year. I got sick (again!) on the winter solstice, and it’s hung on longer than I care to say. With little to no oonph, I reserved my ‘pep,’ as my Gram called it, for time with my brother and Audrey. There wasn’t much to go around, and I missed out on a few things, but we had time together. And that’s what mattered.

They’ve both flown back West now. New Year’s Eve is upon us. And here’s a brief look back at some ’23 highlights for me…keeping it all on the positive end of the spectrum…in no particular order (and surely incomplete) (because who can remember everything?) —

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Top road trip destination : : The Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC

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Most eye-opening travel experience : : Learning that descendants of slaves still occupied the barren cabins of The McLeod Plantation into the 1990s. This was, without a doubt, the most worthwhile historic site we visited, in/near Charleston, SC.

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Best decision : : to sing with the Chautauqua Choir and The Community Project this year. Three different choirs, in all. Inspiring directors and challenging music.

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Favorite indie bookseller : : Pressed, in Erie, PA.

Funniest read : : Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris

Favorite fiction read : : State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett (I think part of the reason this rose to the top for me was because this is a 2011 title. No buzz. Just getting lost in a story with no prior expectations.)

Favorite non-fiction read : : These Precious Days, by Ann Patchett (My notes say, To listen to hear read her own essays on audio is to fall in love with her.)

Favorite new-to-me author : : Min Jin Lee. (Pachinko, especially, is a story that keeps coming to mind.)

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Best secondhand purchase : : A $25 blanket box with a little water damage. I’d been eyeing one at an antique store in town…for a few hundred dollars more. It lives at the end of our bed, serves its purpose, and I hardly notice the water damage anymore! (Too dark and early for a photo today.)

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Best free find : : Elsa’s sewing table, set out for free (brand new!) at the end of a driveway, discovered by a friend when we were out for a walk.

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Best signs : : At the dollar store in town; in Pennsylvania Amish country

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Biggest project : : Reconfiguring the cottage. Still going.

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Biggest surprise : : Participating in a ‘Blue-Red’ one-on-one conversation via the Braver Angels organization. Connecting, and genuinely enjoying, a meaningful conversation with someone who identifies differently than I do, politically — but with whom, we discovered, I have shared values around homelessness, immigration, education, and access to voting. Randy and I talked for hours and were sorry to hang up our calls.

(trying to figure out our sound)

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Most moving moment(s) : : Returning to Colorado for Audrey’s graduation, hosted by dearest friends, and the chance to reunite with some of Audrey’s oldest and closest…especially her favorite teacher ever, Miss Little. Second grade.

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Most enjoyable new skill : : Silk screening. (Though Elsa would say it’s that I finally learned how to French braid.)

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Best new commitment : : Donating blood to the American Red Cross every 56 days, in honor of Troy’s friend + co-worker Crystal, who is now cancer-free after a diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in April!

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Simplest joy : : Pausing while driving or walking to appreciate where I live

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Favorite picture : : It’s a toss-up between these donkeys in Virginia or at Christmas with Audrey. Apples + oranges, I know.

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And that’s a ’23 wrap, in miniature! (It’s all I’ve got. I’m off to rest up for dinner + a movie this afternoon.)

I wish you a fine end to this year and a good start to the next. May it bring peace, adventures, and wellness. xo