Happy brand new revolution around our beloved star. Are you ready? I’ve been working on getting ready for this new year for the majority of last year. Starting out with a surgery that has left me an invalid for the first 1-2 weeks of the new year has been an interesting way to kick things off. My Modus Operendi this year was to look at our traditions as anchor points in the chaos and that has been the saving of me. If I’m honest, this coming year intimidates me because of all the change it’s bringing. So I tried to savor and appreciate all the decisions I didn’t have to make when welcoming it in…Neil made pretzels for dinner like last year. We had chocolate fondue for dessert. The Flour Game. Ahem. Mini firework shenanigans, Bluey (surprisingly comforting, especially since it had been a while since we watched it), and a silly dance countdown instead of the NYC Ball Drop. The time sped by and here we are. We are almost a week into this 2024 business and I’m almost five days post the first big scary thing of the year…my surgery. Long and short is that the surgery went swimmingly and my recovery is just as peachy. I should be lifting heavy things in a week or two and driving even sooner.
It’s funny how a new year makes one introspective. I was going to blog all about my surgery, but when it came down to it…there were very few moments that seemed picture worthy let alone blog post worthy. As I think about the next few weeks I’m not sure if I will find things I want to photograph or even write about. I hope I do…and right now nothing is coming to mind. I’m feeling very turned in, if that makes sense. But I promise to let you know if I decide to be quiet for a bit. And more importantly, I promise to come back.

As always the most noteworthy things in my year are also the most unsurprisingly mundane. I love my husband an embarrassingly huge amount, and my kids only slightly less so. This year was hard and beautiful like my previous 37. Getting older continues to be amusing and weird and I find I want to show off less and less.
I’m guessing that this year will be exactly like all the others…perfectly unique and full of new experiences anchored in the chaos by intentional doses of sameness. [Contented Sigh] I’m ready.