Life Lately: December 2023
As I write this, it is early in the morning. As I look outside, the sky is just beginning to wake as well. I am feeling a whole lot, but mostly fatigue. I did not write my monthly post in November. On the third day of that month, we lost my grandmother. I won’t be talking about grief in this post either, but what a present and consuming state it is. I find myself now, a few days after Christmas. This past month was intense, in ways both positive and challenging. The first half of the month included wrapping up work for the year, going through graduate school finals, preparing for the holiday season, and getting strep. That last part required me to miss out in a few things I was really looking forward to - a work trip to NYC, surprising my best friend for her birthday, and our neighborhood holiday party. It was disappointing and I did my best to hold onto perspective, as always.
The second half of the month was more festive. We hosted our second annual Cookies + Cocktails party and our Alliegro Family Christmas Party. We went to Night Lights at the New England Botanic Garden and a drive-through light show in Lancaster. I baked a lot of sweets and cooked many of my holiday favorites. I also held a virtual workshop focused on crafting a theme for 2024. This is a practice I go through each year, and it helps ground me for the year ahead. I will share my theme in the next few days - as always, the place I landed feels just right. With that, here are a few more notes from the month:
Watching/Reading/Listening: I read/listened to a few books this month. My favorite, was the newest from Stephen King, Holly. I have been a lifelong fan, but have not been into as much of his more recent work - until this one. At the other extreme, I read Bright Lights, Big Christmas - the perfect fun holiday read. I listened to The Woman in Me by Britney Spears. I also read In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts with was excellent. And I wrapped up three dense textbooks. This season I watched relatively few holiday movies compared to usual years (those finals I was referring to…). My go-to show this month was Murder at the End of the World - I love a good mystery, and enjoyed this one.
What I’m Loving: I recently joined Release Well-being Center for a three-month membership. I have had a membership off-and-on, and loooove it. As we gear up for January, I am super excited for another year of the Yoga with Adriene 30-Day Yoga Journey. This is the fourth or fifth year that I have done this with a group of my close friends - it is such a special ritual for us. I have made more progress on my 101 in 1001 list - I’m almost at 50% with two-ish months to go. I think I will get to about 75% which feels right - the past 2.75 years have been intense!
What’s Coming Up Next:
MamaConnect Discussion on Personal Wellness on January 4th. This is currently full and wait-list only; as always, send me a note if you’re interested in joining.
MamaConnect: New Year, New Life Changing Book on January 18th. I am super excited for this special gathering - RSVP in the Facebook group!
