2023: A Year in Review

 1. What did you do in 2023 that you’d never done before?

2023 has been quite a year! I had a busy, but fulfilling year.

 

Professionally, I am enjoying my second year as a reading teacher. I am working with students in a variety of elementary grades, and it has been a great change for me. While teaching ELA was wonderful in its own way, I am very happy with my new career path.

I graduated in May (yay!). It has been so nice to leave the student portion of life behind, though I did enjoy the learning. It is refreshing to be a bit more in control of my time.

I continue to serve on the board of our local Little League and travel baseball league. It was a move that made sense since we give so much of our time already, and it feels good to do so in an official way. I became the concession stand this year. It has been a lot of work, but it is a very social position, which I thoroughly enjoy. Making food and chatting with people is a great fit for me. Baseball has become such a big part of our lives, and I am so grateful for the friendships we have made as a result. 

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 

I did have gratitude for much of what we did this year, despite it being a stressful year. Whenever I think about what I would cancel, I never come up with an experience that I am willing to give up. In other words, despite it all, I get more out of what I do than I would if I didn't do it. Am I stretched thin? Yes. At the end of the day, I feel it is worth it. I want to be there for all of it. One quote that really defines me is: "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." ~Mae West

3. What places did you visit? 

We went to North Carolina in April, Maine in June, and Cape Cod in August. For baseball, we spent a week in the Bronx for states.

4. What would you like to have in 2024 that you lacked in 2023?

I would like to have more time doing fun things with Dave. We are deep in the business of parenting, but we need to carve out pockets of time for ourselves. This should get a bit easier as the kids get older, but I also don't wish them to get older! 

5. What dates from 2023 will remain etched upon your memory?

May 10: Graduation

August 19-26: our week at the beach

August 27: Lena the labradoodle came home

December 21: our dog Mattie passed away

6. What were your biggest achievements of the year? 

I graduated with a 4.0 in my master's program! Also, we have made some great strides with Lucas's and Cecilia's diagnosis and medication. They both have 504 plans in place that give them the best chance for success at school. I also read 29 books this year.

7. What were your biggest failures?

I definitely dropped the ball with health and wellness. While I give a nod to the "fat and happy" mindset, I need to pay more attention to my health. I love to eat so I will be focusing on more movement.  I like running, but I have gotten out of it in the last year. I hope to get back to that. 

8. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I finally had COVID! Luckily, it was very mild. I also struggled with some back issues, but it was largely due to a lack of movement.

9. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 

We FINALLY found a rental on Cape Cod that we can return to each year. It is close to the beach, and there are two playgrounds nearby. This summer we spent one whole week there, and we will do the same this coming summer! 

10. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?
happier
b) thinner or fatter? 
fatter
c) richer or poorer? 

poorer 

11. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Spending quality time as a family. This seems silly because we are always together, but I feel like time is moving faster as they are getting older. I remember someone saying how the days are long but the years are short. I am feeling this big time right now. I love who the kids are becoming as they age, but it is hard too to know that they are moving toward middle and high school. 

12. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Homework!

13.  What were your favorite TV programs?

I barely watched any TV this year, but I did start to listen to podcasts.

TV:

Ginnny and Georgia

NFL 

Podcasts:

The Daily

Going West

  
14.  What did you do for your birthday in 2023?

I did something crazy this birthday!!! I went to see Ashanti and Ja Rule with my baseball mom friends. It was so much fun, and we laughed SO hard. On my actual birthday, Lucas had a travel game at home, and my friends threw me a little party at the field. Cecilia had a baseball game and Lucas had a flag football game that weekend so it was a lot of time watching my lovies. 

15.  What is a valuable life lesson you learned in 2023?

Time is the most valuable resource we have, and helping out is so important. As a result, I started investing more in our local community. I joined the Little League board and the travel baseball board. I help out in the kids' schools whenever I can. If I can offer a ride, I do it. It takes a village, and we have been lucky to live in our community. 

16.  My goals for 2024:   

I want to spend more one-on-one time with each of the kids. I want to say YES to new experiences. As always, I want to travel to new places.

Happy New Year!

2023 in Books

 2023 in Books:

29 in total!

The Paris Apartment, Lucy Foley

Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern

Ghosts of Greenglass House, Kate Milford 

Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus

Murder on Cape Cod, Maddie Day

Murder at the Taffy Shop, Maddie Day

Murder at the Lobstah Shack, Maddie Day

Murder at a Cape Cottage, Maddie Day

Signal Fires, Dani Shapiro

Me and White Supremacy, Layla F. Saad

Bluebird, Bluebird, Attica Locke

The Cutting Season, Attica Locke

The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found 

The Dead Romantics, Ashley Poston

Late Bloomers, Deepa Varadarajan

I Suck at Girls, Justin Halpern

It Ends With Us, Colleen Hoover

It Starts With Us, Colleen Hoover

Verity, Colleen Hoover

They Wish They Were Us, Jessica Goodman

One Last Shot, Kip Wilson

The Late Americans, Brandon Taylor

Imaginary Borders, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

Murder at a Cape Bookstore, Maddie Day

The Wishing Game, Meg Shaffer

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, Lauren Tarshis

Murder Uncorked, Maddie Day

Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng

The Frozen River, Ariel Lawhon

Kitchen Reveal

 It took forever and we went WAY over budget, but the kitchen turned out so well!

2022: Year in Review

 

1. What did you do in 2022 that you’d never done before?

2022 has been quite a year! I was SO busy, but each of my activities was very fulfilling.

 

Professionally, I accepted a position as a reading teacher in Kindergarten and first grade. While I haven't finished my master's program yet, I had enough credits to gain certification. I will graduate in May (yay!). The new job has been amazing. I underestimated the inherent joy of working with younger kids. They love school and are happy to be there. They have SO much energy, and that has really invigorated me. 

I joined the board of our local little league. It was a move that made sense since we give so much of our time already, and it feels good to do so in an official way. I am taking on the concession stand this year. I also do the music and the scoreboard for travel and little league, which is more fun than you might imagine! I coached Cecilia's baseball team in the spring. While it was fun, it is not something I will do again. I do not know much about baseball so I felt in over my head. I will leave the coaching to Dave as he excels at it.

Lucas's all-star team made it to the state tournament this summer! While they didn't win, it was truly an experience for all of us. Baseball has become such a big part of our lives, and I am so grateful for the friendships we have made as a result. 

My classes are wrapping up, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My last class will be on May 10, which is only 128 days! Being a student while working has been tough, but it is also hard to believe that it is almost over. I am so glad I decided to make this career change. With teaching, it is discouraged to change paths (loss of tenure, etc.). I try to encourage others to consider how a small change might make them much happier.  

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 

I did have gratitude around much of what we did this year, despite it being a stressful year. Whenever I think about what I would cancel, I never come up with an experience that I am willing to give up. In other words, despite it all, I get more out of what I do than I would if I didn't do it. Am I stretched thin? Yes. At the end of the day, I feel it is worth it. I want to be there for all of it. One quote that really defines me is: "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." ~Mae West

3. What places did you visit? 

We went to North Carolina in April and July, Maine in June, and Cape Cod in August. For baseball, we spent Memorial Day weekend in Oswego and a week in Endicott for states.

4. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?

I want my Monday and Wednesday nights back! Those are the nights I have class, and I will be so excited to have those free again. 

5. What dates from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory?

The year was a pretty good blur so no dates specifically stand out. This year has been good and steady in terms of events. No major lows (thank goodness), and the highs were normal day-to-day stuff. For example, Lucas getting his first all-star hit or Cecilia getting promoted to a new horse. This year really showed that it is the small stuff that is the big stuff. 

6. What were your biggest achievements of the year? 

I have a 4.0 in my mater's program! Also, we have made some great strides with Cecilia's diagnosis and medication. She now has a 504 plan in place that gives her the best chance for success at school. 

7. What were your biggest failures?

I definitely dropped the ball with health and wellness. While I give a nod to the "fat and happy" mindset, I need to pay more attention to my health. I love to eat so I will be focusing on more movement.  I like running, but I have gotten out if it the last year. I hope to get back to that.

8. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Luckily no! 

9. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 

We FINALLY found a rental on Cape Cod that we can return to each year. It is close to the beach, and there are two playgrounds nearby. This coming summer, we will spend one whole week there! 

10. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?
happier
b) thinner or fatter? 
fatter
c) richer or poorer? 

poorer 

11. What do you wish you’d done more of?

One thing I missed this year was local hiking. When Covid hit, we spent a LOT of time in nature. Baseball dominated our spring, summer, and fall weekends so we haven't spent any time in the woods. We used to walk in the nature preserve on Sunday mornings, and that was such a mental reset for me. 

12. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Homework!

13.  What were your favorite TV programs?

Dead to Me

Dynasty

NFL 

  
14.  What did you do for your birthday in 2022?

We celebrated at our local pub! Also, our neighbors had us over for dinner.

15.  What is a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022?

Time is the most valuable resource we have, and helping out is so important. As a result, I started investing more in our local community. I joined the PTA board and the little league board. I help out in the kids' school whenever I can. If I can offer a ride, I do it. It takes  village, and we have been lucky to live in our community. 

16.  My goals for 2023:   

I plan to learn to ride a horse this year! Cecilia has taken lessons for two years, and I will join her in the spring. 

I will also graduate with my master's in literacy. 

Happy New Year!

Kitchen Plans

We finally decided to move ahead with our kitchen renovation! It is a bigger project than it looks on paper...we are taking out a wall between our current kitchen and dining room to open it up to a larger area. Basically, the back half of our house (minus the half bath) will be the kitchen and the entertaining space. We are so excited! These are the decisions we have made so far, but there is more to be done! We are keeping our floors, but everything else is going.

The Master Plan:

 

This cabinet:

In this color:

Countertop:

2022 in Books

 2022 in Books

Big Summer, Jennifer Weiner

The Holiday Swap, Maggie Knox

Big Summer, Jennifer Weiner

Take Me With You When You go, David Leviathan and Jennifer Niven

Borders, Thomas King

Seven Days in June, Tia Williams

The Secrets We Kept, Lara Prescott

Blindsided, Kate Watterson

Black Cake, Charmaine Wilkerson

Kristy’s Great Idea, Ann M. Martin
Sister Stardust, Jane Green

The Guest List, Lucy Foley

The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley

Hell of a Book, Jason Mott

Remote Control, Nnedi Okorafor

Prettiest, Brigit Young

Lost Girls, Robert Kolker

Last Call at the Nightengale, Katharine Schellman 

The Rumor, Elin Hilderbrand

The Greenglass House, Kate Milford

Raising a Girl with ADHD, Allison K. Tyler

The Stonewall Riots, Gayle E. Pitman

He Said, She Said, Kwame Alexander

The Diamond Eye, Kate Quinn

Red at the Bone, Jacqueline Woodson

Reflection Time

 It is hard to believe that summer is finally here, and it has been for a bit. The end of the school year is always so crazy that I never have time to write and reflect on the year. I know I never really talk about my career on here, but I am going to today.

I have wanted to be a reading teacher since 2003. Is it weird that I remember that? I graduated with my undergraduate degree in English with a dual major in Communications Studies. What do I do with that!? Obviously becoming an English teacher made sense so that is what I did. Long story short, it was feasible to become an English teacher with one year of schooling so forward I marched. Lots of good came out of that decision--I met my amazing husband in graduate school, and I have enjoyed a wonderfully interesting career as an English teacher. In addition, I have worked with some truly wonderful people, some of whom I know will be life-long friends. I have also taught some truly special kiddos over the years. In other words, no regrets. 

And yet.

There has always been a whisper in my ear about being a reading teacher. It is what I have always wanted to do. I ignored this whisper for the better part of 15 years, but I finally decided to look into it. Even though I was pretty happy teaching English, I knew I could be happier. I have always loved small groups, skill work, and the fundamentals of our language. I wanted to make a difference in a concrete and observable (to me) way. 

They say when you are doing what you are meant to do, doors open, right? Well, that is what happened. I found a graduate program that has been a terrific fit. I brag to people in real life about how much I love my school. As it turns out, because I am already certified, adding a reading certification isn't too tough! 

I am more than halfway through a master's in literacy for Birth-Grade 6! I could write another post on what it is like to be a mom, wife, teacher, and graduate student, but I won't. It has been hard, but I know it will be worth it.

The best part of all of this is that I will be a reading teacher this fall. I accepted a position in Kindergarten and first grade. I am staying in my district, and I am so excited about the possibilities. As scary as it is to try something new, I am ready.