What a year.
While I was living the year, I didn’t feel like I accomplished much or that anything particularly big happened. Then I sat down and thought about it.
What. A. Year.
January
January was gentle. Getting into the swing of things. Getting ready for a trip. Starting Pandemic Legacy with friends. Coding. Baking multiple lemon pound cakes. Getting bangs and a fresh bob.
February
The highlight of February was a sibling trip to Paris, travelling in first class with Iceland Air. We went with no expectations – it’s touted as a romantic city but we were two siblings, so the hype just didn’t apply to us. As a result, we loved Paris. The time we spent there was far too short and we both will definitely make a trip to the city of lights again. The architecture, the pastries, the history, it was all supremely awesome.
March
March was the month I got engaged. Ooooh man. Granted, the engagement happened at the end of the month, but still. It was craziness! I’ve got a bunch of thoughts about the whole thing and about wedding planning, but I’m not quite ready to share all of that yet.
April
I struggled with burnout and depression. But it was also the month I gave a talk at the March for Science here in Calgary. So there was some good happening there. 🙂
May
May. This month was consumed by venue hunting and it was frankly more stressful than it should be. The venues in Calgary are opaque and it was a struggle to get appropriate information easily so that we could make a choice. In the end, we found a venue we all could agree on, set the date for the wedding, and all was well. I also gave a talk on WordPress theme development at WordCamp Calgary, which was super fun and successful.
June
June was chill. I was still struggling with burnout because I hadn’t yet admitted to myself that I WAS burned out.
July
I had a bunch of annoying appointments. I started to meal prep weekly, which made a far bigger positive impact on my life than I had anticipated. And our family friends held a dholki (a pre-wedding event filled with singing and dancing) for me which was more fun that I thought it would be. We also went hiking a lot in July. My favourite walk (not really a hike) was Takakkaw Falls. Lots of fun with friends and family, and very pretty.
August
More hikes and an increasingly active social life on the weekends. Still struggling with burnout and starting to get frantic about it.
September
Went to the Mosquers festival! Saw a bunch of my friends I hadn’t seen in a couple years. Kept meal prepping. Found out an old high school friend was engaged and getting married in December!!
October
Brought my love of eye makeup back to life. Cooked an awesome Thanksgiving dinner for my family and my in-laws – it was a smashing success. Went wedding ring shopping. Went to a paint nite with my future sister in law.
November
Confronted my burnout. Took the time I needed, and came out of it much much better. My burnout was problematic for a bunch of people around me and it took some work to sort it all out. But in the end, all was well. I also was part of a UX panel that was new and different for me.
December
December. My birthday month. I went to my friend’s wedding in Toronto and it was so much fun for me. It was crazy, busy, chaotic, hilarious, emotional, and all that good wedding stuff. And extremely theraputic for me. I came home to a surprise birthday party planned by my family and friends, and the end of the month passed in bliss.
One Little Word
After taking a look back at 2017. I decided on my one little word for 2018: PROGRESS.
A lot of things happened in 2017. The events of 2017 were generally positive. My emotional and mental state, however, was all over the place.
In my love life, I took a step forward. In some areas of life, I took a step backwards. In some areas of my life, things went backwards and then forwards only to end up where they had been before. It was a mixed bag.
So 2018 is dedicated to progress.
To moving forward.
To making improvements.
To forging new paths.
To growing not wilting.
Happy new year, everyone. Let’s roll.