Unveiling My 2024 Health Journey: The Results Are In!

A family joyfully strolls through a sunlit Christmas tree farm, hand in hand, surrounded by rows of evergreen trees.

While I'm beginning to write this post, it's 10pm on December 27th. I thought it was crucial to note the date and time since it's that wonderful period between Christmas and New Year's when time seems illusory, and it might be a Monday or a Thursday - no one truly knows. Just kidding, it's actually a Friday. My husband, Chris, is out at the World Juniors; my son, Logan, is downstairs playing video games and our three-year-old, Lina, is asleep in our bed. The house is quiet and ripe for reflection.

Honestly, I hesitated to write this review because I had difficulty recalling everything that happened this year and felt underwhelmed by the bleakness of the recent months. However, while scrolling through social media, I came across a post from Medium Lady discussing the importance of reflecting on 2024 before planning for 2025. As always, Erin, the wise sage, reminded me that I just needed to retrace my steps to remember. Fortunately for me and my memory, I document my experiences. As I scrolled through my camera roll, memories came flooding back, reminding me that despite my pessimism, this year was actually quite wonderful.

If you've been following me for some time, you're aware that I began selecting a word of the year to guide me. If you're new here (hello and welcome), take a look at my past year-end reviews (2020, 2022, 2023). This year, my word was HEALTH. My goal was to prioritize physical and mental well-being, adopting practices that support a healthy lifestyle. I thought this would look like finding balance in work and play, moving my body and focusing on foods which would nourish it, and building healthy relationships with friends, family and, most importantly, myself. I'm not going to lie, I had intentions to "get in the best shape of my life", which definitely did not happen (YOLO) but I'm realizing now that "HEALTH" can mean more than just fitting back into my pre-pregnancy jeans. When I look back on 2024, I realize that health really meant work/life balance, relationships, finances, and knowing when to rest.

Professional goals:

This year, I faced the challenge of joining a new team under a new leader who managed many direct reports, each with different responsibilities. My role also expanded from supporting one team to supporting three teams. Despite my previous decision to avoid overworking and not take on tasks outside my responsibilities, I found it impossible to achieve without clearly defining my role (something I will need to do next year). However, despite these setbacks, I am proud of myself for recognizing when I needed time away to rest and reset (something I did a lot more than previous years).

Personal goals:

I also found myself reflecting more on my personal accomplishments, rather than my professional ones. For all the recovering work-aholics out there, you know this is a HUGE feat. Here are a few of my highlights:

• Completed home renovations, including a new fence, new interlock and redoing the roof. Back in 2020, Chris and I had met with our friend, Kyleigh, who works as a financial planner. She had put together a summary of the "things we wanted to accomplish" to support our future. I'm proud to report that this year we officially crossed all but one goal from our list (Disney, don't you worry, we're coming for you!).

• Travelled to both coasts. Historically, I don't take time off during the summer, but this year I was able to travel to Victoria and PEI, taking one week off for each trip. Also, for the PEI trip, I travelled solo with our three-year-old and realized how capable I am despite the setbacks we had with our flight and needing to pivot for the additional day we got.

• Completed my breastfeeding journey. With my trip out west, I left Lina at home, knowing that when I returned, that would be the end of our three-year stint. As nervous as I was for it to end, I'm so grateful for the time we had together and for how smooth the transition went.

• Said "bye bye" to diapers. Although we started potty training Lina late (according to my mother), waiting until she was more ready helped tremendously in ensuring that we minimized tears (on both sides!) and getting her ready for big school, which starts in September.

What are my intentions for 2025?

Well, this upcoming year is going to be a BIG one. At the beginning of December, our family made a life changing decision. Starting in the spring of 2025, we will be building an addition onto the home of my in-laws and then moving into their main house by the end of the year. We will also be keeping our home and renting it out to cover the cost of our mortgage and the cost of the addition. We'll be doing all of this - a build, a move, finding renters - all while working full time and getting Lina ready to transition to BIG school in September.

Are we crazy? Maybe. But given that this year we are moving into a universal year 9 (while I'm in a personal year 8), I'm confident that we're on the right track. Thanks for the wisdom, Courtney!

And so, with these intentions in mind, my word for 2025 is BUILD. In addition to laying the actual foundation for a new home, we'll be laying the figurative foundation for our new life. During this next year, we will be building generational wealth, building a plan for the care of my aging in-laws and building a new life that will enable us to reach our retirement goals within the next 10-15 years.

2025, I'm ready for you!

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Do you choose a word of the year? Let me know by commenting below!