Goodbye, 2022

I see so many people talking about what a hard, stressful, or painful year 2022 was for them, how they are glad to see it go, that they are ready for 2023. To all of those people, I hope 2023 is a good year for clarity, relief, peace, growth and prosperous times for you. While I am ready for the good things that 2023 has in store for me, I am so very grateful for what 2022 provided, challenged and promoted within me too.

When you think about a year ago, today, you think that is wasn’t that long ago, but then you consider what was happening in your life at that time. I was a massage therapist, hoping to one day go fully in to photography. Bill was working as a Snap On Business Manager looking to move forward. Avery was in California on a personal trip that segued in to her school trip, that was ushering her in to an entrepreneurship pathway. And Brooke was a junior in high school, working at Whit’s, about to take her first college class at the same time. And we were gearing up for Snap On’s annual KickOff the following weekend.

In March I quit massage therapy completely, walking away from a 24 year career that I once thought I would retire from. This resulted in me not working for 4 months to heal, recoup and recover from a lot of life trauma, which I was in desperate need of. I also realized what drove my desire to help people, and I addressed that this year too. I honestly at one point wondered if I would ever be able to work again, let alone function properly, and this all worked hand in hand to show me that we often need to cut things off or out completely in order to go forward.

Bill was offered the position of Regional Diagnostics Manager with Snap On in late March, and began the job in April. While he loves challenges, this coincides with some deep life things for him, too. Surprisingly, I think it was the exact thing he needed to move forward, toward better things for himself as well. This isn’t to say sunshine and roses, but more so finding his inner self, his strengths, and also his flaws and weaknesses for his betterment.

Avery’s trip resulted in her seeing things from people close to her, that was becoming a constant theme in her life, one she didn’t want, and so she made a decision to shift gears and forge a slightly different path for herself. While this new path caused issues for her in the beginning, Avery knew that she had to stick to her guns, stick to this different path and keep rolling ahead. This opened the door for her to confront some things in life, to release what didn’t serve and only inhibited her, it was a tough path to undertake, but Avery is a determined, brilliant person, and she handled it all with maturity, care and compassion. She rose above, and this has only served her well so far, and I have no doubt will continue to serve her well short term and long term in life.

Brooke did very well in her college class, she received a lot of support and encouragement in the form of professors and teachers at school, which she has come to rely on, learn from, and to grow from. She has slowly been holding close those that truly want the best for her in life, and has slowly been letting go of those that only seem to be her friends to her face, but not behind her back. It is a hard thing watching your kids learn this, that not everyone wants the best for you, but those that do should be held closer to your heart. Brooke has come a long way this past year in maturity and realization of self. I am very proud of her in her young wisdom and self awareness, and I thank God regularly for the sage folks in her life that fill in the places they serve in her life.

All in all, our household is heading to somewhere great, individually, personally, as a family and in the respective ways we are associated with others. We turned a corner in 2022. We had many candid conversations, some of which included many confessions, many tears, many apologies, much love, lots of anger, and a shit ton of clarity and growth. This has definitely cleared an immense amount of space for us all for the good things to enter our lives, for us to grow-as ourselves and together. This makes me so happy, I feel completely right with it all, how we fit in this world, and where we are all heading next. 2023 holds so much opportunity for all of us!

Tomorrow is a new day, a new year, a new place to begin. What are you reflecting upon today, and looking toward for your tomorrows? Drop me a line, I would love to know one thing you want to see come to fruition next year.