January

Writing today from a cozy nest of blankets on a "cold day" off from school and so it kind of goes without saying that January so far has been winter, as advertised. 

That is, full of snow and cold and skiing and singing and swim meets and cozy times with friends...

Cocktail choir!

GCC championship meet!  Here's my champion breaststroker!  (and number two in the IM)

Cozy time with small dog...

Chilly beach club...

Really chilly lake...

Skiing with my girl on totally natural snow...

Second semester is off to a nice start with my little sweeties at school...

Ivy is taing a session of lessons with In Step with horses.  Snuck in this photo because they are considered therapeutic lessons and we aren't supposed to watch. So far she likes the horses and the instructor...

More skiing, more icy lake....

Painting pottery with my love...

These two little fish. Rocking the second to last home meet of the season.  I am so proud of them.  And so mystified at how fast this season has gone. The routine of practices and meets paces us right through the winter months.  What was that old saying, the meets are long but the months (and years) are short?

In the midst of swim meets and work and the routine of our January days, we've also had a fair bit of change.  Nat and I finalized our dissolution on the 16th.  It is a clarification of what we have been traveling towards for over a year. It wasn't the easiest process but we did it, quite successfully I think, with the help of a mediator and with a great deal of agreement and no lingering animosity. More tangible changes are coming in the future, with the sales of some properties and official changes of residence, but in this moment we are continuing to focus on stability for the kids .

One legal change leads to another-  Holly and I got our marriage license on the 17th, and have a wedding ceremony planned for February 2nd.  It's an accelerated timeline for something which, again, has been a desitnation for a long time.  We are putting things in place to protect our relationship in the changing political climate of our country.... and we are ridiculously in love, too.

More lake...

More snow...

More swimming...

And a wonderful weekend of bachelorette festivities with our best of friends.

 Blessings about even in these darkening times.   The light of my family and my friends gives me hope.

 

Year's End

Home again home again...

Back to the pool we go, for the Heights relay meet.  It was a fun day, topped off by our boy setting meet records in two races and posing for medal photos right in front of his own Senior photo. :)

Holly and I had a fun spontaneous date night to see Peter/Wendy at Dobama because the kids did not have energy to come along.

What a sweet show!  Just a delight from start to finish.  We are so lucky to have theater like this right in the neighborhood. 

Monday- a last minute surprise when my lovely friend Jen from high school was in town and free for dinner.  We spent the afternoon doing errands and buying ALLL the food with Jen from college :) Then all of us cooked an Indian feast and drank wine and talked up a storm.  A great night.

Took Ivy and Vio out to play with horses at Mallory's on Tuesday, and treated ourselves to a stop at the ASM headquarters dome on the way home. 

Then spent the rest of New Year's Eve being incredibly prouctive, clearnig and rearranging and adding storage in the kitchen...

and cleaning out and prepping the basement for our new workout room, or the "no excuses room" as we are calling it because we are getting our lives togeher in 2025, dammit.

New Year's Eve!  

After much reflection I opted out of our traditional friends NYE party.  I am moving into 2025 committed to radical honesty and authenticity and as such, I am not spending time and energy on relationships or in spaces  where I feel like I have to hide who I am.  This is not an easy thing to commit to and comes with many emotions, but it is important.

So- we went to Studio West with some Windie friends around whom I can express all of my identity and talk about all of my relationships.  We  were surrounded by a delightful mix of humanity, people being unabashedly themselves. and it felt great. 

As we head into 2025, with the knowledge that we will be living in a changing and uncertain world after January 20th, I am choosing to focus on the light.

The light within me- letting it shine bravely

The light in others- recognizing it with compliments and kindness

The light in community- choosing my spaces where my light can best combine with others

The light in the universe- the beauty of our natural world

The light of hope and strength and resilience that is always there under the surface, even in the darkest times.

Happy New Year, loves.  Wishing you so much light.