2022 was a year of strength for me. It tested me in many ways. My resolve. My resiliency. My power. if I had doubts in any of those areas, they were gone. I soared, thrived, conquered despite a few obstacles and roadblocks, and was able to move forward. I am stronger than I’ve ever been.
The good outweighed the bad this year as well, and I learned to be more in the moment and less structured. I was able to showcase my vulnerability with my circle, something that I never trusted myself to do before. Leaning on my friends became natural and I began to lead with intention and purpose. There was less “on the gram” and more “in real life”. The moments that I cherished the most aren’t online and won’t be found in my Facebook Memories a year from now. They live in my heart, not in my digital footprint.
2022 has taught me that I am further along than I thought I was. I’m on my way and my flight can’t be delayed, canceled, or denied.
A lot happened this year, but I wanted to have a repository where I can define my year to look back on fondly. Here’s my 2022 recap.
New address after 10 years
Right after the new year, I found out that my daughter and I had to move out of our home of 10 years, and without an amazing high-powered attorney, there was nothing I could do. I had a week to find another place, and I was unable to. It was the middle of January, the coldest time of the year and we didn’t have a place to move into. So we lived in a Residence Inn for 20 days while I secured us another home.
The move was painful, but the home I found was much better than the home we moved out of. We are so very blessed.
Magazine feature
I was featured in St. Louis Magazine’s Family Spring issue where I chatted about my job as a social media manager for a very popular pizza chain in the area, my novel series, and being a mom of two. What an honor!
New novel
In March, I released the second novel in my Clermont Lane series called ‘A Clermont Lane Wedding‘ and met my sales goal. And before you ask, yes, another book in the series is coming.
New job
In April, I started a new role at Rung for Women as the Director of Marketing and Communications, facilitating all of our front-facing messaging and branding. I’ve been overseeing a huge rebrand and redesign of our organization and definitely learning more about strategy as it relates to the way an operation should communicate.
Became an empty nester
My youngest graduated from high school, moved to New York, and is attending St. John’s University as a freshman. For the first time in a long time, I don’t have one of my kids living under my roof. It has been a journey learning who I am without being defined as a mother first. And while the first month was pretty hard for me, I am becoming more comfortable every day as a party of one.
Started a new podcast
In the fall, I introduced my new podcast Scratchin’ and Surviving: A Podcast About Good Times, which has been something that I’ve wanted to do for a while now. ‘Good Times‘ is my favorite sitcom of all time and it is incredible fun dissecting each episode and breaking it down for fans. It gives me joy! (Oh, and look to your right and click the ‘Good Times’ photo to listen and subscribe–new episodes coming soon).
Whew! 2022 was a watershed year for me (and for many of us), but I am so looking forward to what 2023 has in store. I hope you continue to go through this thing called life with me–we have a lot of living (and blogging) to do!
What has 2022 taught you?
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