2019 Year in Review

Can you believe 2019 is coming to a close? In a way, I've already moved on, because I've been prepping for the Whole30 in January. It's a substantial change in diet for me, so I've been reading and thinking a lot about what I'm going to be eating the first week, and how I'm going to feed my family without too much trouble for me or too much rebellion from the kids.



But I do believe in looking back and taking stock of the past year. 2019 involved some significant highlights for me, but the most meaningful one was embracing the fact that my identity as "mom" is my most important "job" right now, and that I don't have to have a "professional" identity that I'm as passionate about in order to feel complete or be happy.

However, I love blogging and I don't want to stop. I did briefly consider the idea over the summer when Chief Family Officer had some serious connectivity issues. But I could never leave you! The transition to a different kind of website was scary, but I love the new format and I can't thank you enough for sticking with me through it all.

The new format at CFO is helping me grow as a writer, and allowing me to tackle new challenges. In fact, I'll be taking an essay-writing class in the winter quarter that I hope will make my writing here deeper and more meaningful for you.

On a more personal level, I re-connected with family members I haven't been that close to recently, and that's nourished my heart more than I would have guessed possible. Gretchen Rubin says the single most important key to happiness is strong relationships, so I'm extra happy I also made a new close friend this year.

My oldest has started high school, which is making me feel like college really is right around the corner. It's evident in the posts I've published in the last six months about getting into and paying for college, and I think it's safe to say there will be more on those topics in 2020.

One trend I noticed in myself in 2019 is that I'm increasingly using advice and information from non-parenting books in my parenting. Wildhood, which is about adolescence throughout the animal kingdom, comes to mind first, but also Grit by Angela Duckworth (review coming), The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin, and others.

If you'd like to do a more comprehensive/systematic review of 2019, I recommend checking out James Clear and Chris Gillebeau for examples. I always enjoy reading their reviews when they do them, and they provide food for thought regarding my own experiences.

What was most significant about 2019 for you?