Ah, 2016. It wasn’t much of a standout year at all, but it will forever be the year of two major things: my grandfather’s death and my big job promotion. Those are the two things I will always remember about the year – one terrible thing and one awesome thing. Here are the big moments and memories of our year.
The Good
- In January, Caleb turned one! There were many moments during the first year that I didn’t know how I could do it, but I did it. Surviving the first year was a major accomplishment.
- In September, I got a really big promotion at work. Not only was I promoted from PT to FT, but I was promoted from a Library Assistant to a Librarian I. I took on a lot more responsibility, moved buildings, and just felt really proud of myself. I learned that hard work and finding your voice really do pay off, even when it takes some time to happen (I finished my MLS degree in 2013 and waited over three years).
- Caleb began PT in January as a roly-poly baby who hardly moved, and wrapped it up in December as a thin, active toddler who runs and jumps and climbs. He also continued Music Together classes, and we even won a free semester to start in January!
- We added a second dog to the family by adopting our senior Bulldog, Bully, in September. Honestly, he is a lot more difficult than we anticipated, and quite obnoxious, but we do love the old dope, so on the good list this goes!
- In November, Jerry and I went on our first vacation since our honeymoon cruise in 2013. We went on another cruise with our grandparents and Caleb stayed with my parents.
The Bad
- Erm, I got violently ill on said vacation so it wasn’t what we expected or had hoped for.
- All three of us had trips to the ER. What the flip?! I’ve NEVER been in the ER for anything, yet all three of us landed a trip this year. Caleb in June with massive dehydration and a bug, me in November during our vacation with unknown dizziness and vomiting, and Jerry in December with an infection. Yikes. At least we ended the year with all of us fairly healthy.
The Ugly
- In July, my grandfather, Papa, unexpectedly and suddenly passed away in his home. I don’t think words can adequately explain how it feels and how it felt. Losing Papa was the first big loss I have ever experienced and was pretty horrible. The sudden sharp pains of sadness, the guilt, the regret, the memories… you just never know how grief will affect you until you find yourself in it. My family really banded together and honestly, it was the closest we have ever felt and we all found comfort in that, at the very least. I will never NOT miss him.
The Blog
- I did a fairly good job of maintaining a twice a week posting schedule, but it really dropped off at the end of the year because LIFE!
- I made a really big effort over the summer to “meet” some new bloggers, and have grown my little blogging friendship community a bit. Yay for new friends!
- I wrote a few book reviews for the first time in awhile with plans to do a few more in 2017.
- I’m not going to put as much pressure on myself this year to have a set schedule. In 2016, I shot for twice a week with one essay or creative piece and one more casual, daily life post like Five on Friday. I like this schedule a lot and will do my best to maintain it, but who knows. Some weeks I don’t have time, energy, or topics to write about.
- I had about 28.2 thousand page views in 2016. This has dropped by more than 10,000, but honestly, it’s to be expected because I haven’t been able to blog as much as I used to since I’m now a FT working mama! The numbers don’t matter much to me, and I mostly just check them out at the end of the year.
Looking Ahead to 2017
I’ve learned that life throws us major curveballs and I’m starting to realize you can’t really plan everything out even though we’d like to. That said, I’m not really setting any big goals for the year because you just never know what to expect.
I will say I’d like to read 50 books, continue to find my own sense of fashion (something I became interested in recently), put the phone down more often, and go with the flow more. Can I measure most of these things? No. I’m learning now that the only real “goals” I want to have are to be better than I was before because we can always improve. I can be a better mom, wife, librarian, blogger, writer, and so on… so I will just keep working on me.
That said, I also think being better means accepting myself for who I am right now instead of wishing I was skinnier, less neurotic and anxious, etc. I will work on these things because I WANT to be a better me, but I also need to stop being so down on myself, and instead need to love me for just who I am in this moment while also striving to improve.
Wishing you all a wonderful 2017! I am eternally grateful for all the friendships I have found over my seven plus years of blogging. Lots of love to all my blog friends, both old and new. I look forward to sharing our lives and spreading the love in the coming year!
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