I'm usually very good at remembering trips as milestones throughout the year. This year, I'm either getting old or I exceeded some threshold, because it's all a bit of a blur. Between all the personal trips and work trips, I lost track. At peak of work travel insanity, I got on 13 different planes in less than 4 weeks.
We started the year with two weddings on the calendar and ended up with four weddings and a funeral.
Thankfully, I am ending this year less burnt out than the last one. I started the year so desperately needing a vacation, and thankfully I was able to take one. It was a great chance to reflect on what "enough" meant, and lean into the idea of working less.
That lasted for about... 3 weeks. Ha!
I did at times regain a sense of healthy balance, but I had a few really intense months where I took on a lot of extra responsibility at work, mainly related to hiring. I could feel the stress in my body again, and I know that is unhealthy. The good news is that some new additions to the team have really helped lighten my load.
Personally, Jon and I also started working with a financial advisor this year, which has been great at lifting some of my domestic mental load.
I've started to wonder if there are some physiological reasons and not just psychological ones behind waking up early in the morning with my heart racing. I first noticed it in 2023 at the height of my work stress, but it has continued sometimes this year. Wondering if it might be related to blood sugar and cortisol, I cut way back on sweet things for several weeks and started measuring my blood sugar with a simple monitor. With so many variables, I haven't found any clear patterns yet on what might cause my early morning insomnia, but I plan to continue collecting data.
In many ways, this was a year without big changes to the fundamentals. Same jobs, same house, same school, same friends, same pet. This time a year ago, I wasn't sure our dog would still be with us. Thankfully, she is! Less mobile, but still happy.
Adele continues to grow into a delightful person, and she still thinks we're cool and wants to hang out with us. She has some wonderful friends and a growing sense of independence and responsibility.
The best new thing this year was taking up a new hobby—or rather, picking up a very old one. During a time of high work stress, I started dancing again. It's been over a decade since I danced with any regularity. I love it, and it's one of the times I have tried to protect and look forward to even during hectic weeks.
I was excited about Kamala & Walz and of course upset by the results of the election. I didn't get involved as early as I'd hoped, but I did volunteer for the campaign close to the election. I forced myself to go to sleep that night without looking at the news. When I woke up, I saw we were in The Bad Place. I am trying to preserve my sanity by tuning some things out without completely disengaging. I want to be intentional about what gets my attention and energy so that I can stay focused and effective on the causes I care about most and am best positioned to impact.
As (almost) always, I look forward to sharing my thoughts tomorrow about what's in store for 2025. So long, 2024!
