2023
The last time I sat down to blog was in January of this year. Almost a full year has passed since that post and is anyone else wondering where this year has gone?
Looking back on this year I have realized that this has been my year for personal growth. Growth as a mom of four teenagers and one pre-teen. Growth as a friend…middle aged friendships are pretty awesome things that are raw and real and where true loyalty lies. Growth in my businesses and just in life in general.
Despite all of this growth (and very likely caused by all of this growth), halfway through this year I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue caused by stress, not enough sleep and just too much on my plate. The many months of recent stressors had piled on top of years of living in anxiety, fear, worry, anger, frustration and so many other dark feelings that ultimately became just too much. So, I hit a pretty dark place of overwhelming anxiety, constant tears, hopelessness and an intense level of stress that I had never felt before. Running two businesses that went through crazy ups and downs including a flood and other natural disasters, handling an insanely busy household, managing five children’s schedules and dealing with all of the parents and family members involved in those five children’s lives just became too much.
Thankfully, I have that supportive network of very close friends I mentioned earlier, mature and understanding children and Allan who would quite literally do anything and everything I could possibly need to heal from the smothering waves of anxiety and stress that I was feeling daily…for weeks…for months. I also have loving physicians and healthcare providers who are friends that guided me through those dark days with advice and the medical terminology that my science-based mind needed to hear.
While there was so much GOOD that happened this year (tremendous growth at my store and in my design business, successes that each of my children achieved academically and athletically, success in Allan’s professional world and so much more) as I go into 2024 I am so beyond happy that this blip of 2023 is over.
Things I have learned in 2023:
It’s OK to say “No”
I can accept something for what it is and move on from it
True love gives strength
It’s OK to not be OK
I won’t always get the closure, treatment or explanation I need
Some relationships just aren’t worth it, I need to focus on the relationships that ARE worth it
Sleep is an amazing thing
God gives me the experiences, the people, the life lessons He thinks I need to be the best version of me that I can be
So, as I move forward into 2024, my 45th year of life, the year I become a wife again, the year I take my children to the country of my heritage for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, the year my shop expands and my design center is born…all God-willing, of course…I actually feel peaceful, happier, well-rested and excited for the changes to come. And for all of the things that will stay exactly the same.
“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”
—Carl Bard