Happy New Year!

Crisp. Exciting. Fresh…

… a few simple words that usually discribe my state of mind around this time of the year thanks to the powerful combination of my birthday celebration which follows shortly after celebrationing the new year. It’s hard not to be immensly positive and glow-y!

My family from Charlotte came over to celebrate NYE and it felt extra good to have a full house. We watched the fireworks and acorn drop in downtown Raleigh. All of this at 7pm which I think allows for the most brilliant way to welcome a new year – with a good night’s sleep! Although, we didn’t quite go to bed once home and instead spent the night playing Mexican Train Dominos until midnight.

I spent the last few days of 2023 thinking of the baggage that I didn’t want to carry into 2024. It was literal baggage – things – that had just accumulated without any use, as well as tiny tasks that just never got done (like cleaning the junk drawer, dusting that top shelf I have never dusted, hanging the picture frames sitting next to my bed for the last 2+ years).

Then there was the proverbial baggage. Most of all I wanted to stop myself from constantly being dissatisfied by something or the other. (*Complaining: The easiest of habits to pick up in life*). It is unfortunate when bad things have to happen to others for an ephiphany, but that is just what all the terrible news from around the world had me feeling. At the end of the day, WHY THE HELL WAS I COMPLAINING when I was safe with my loved ones with everything one may need or want.

Fix it. Or get a new perspective.

A simple thought which has never quite sunk in quite like this before.

And as if all that positivity and excitment was not enough, a few days later, I celebrated my 42nd birthday which was filled with so much love, laughter, flowers, and yes, presents!! I embraced it all with open arms and basked in the warmth of being surrounded by so many amazing people.

I am in a good place. And I hope this feeling lingers longer than ever.

I hope your new year is off to a wonderful start too. Cheers to us and all the new adventures that are to come.