We made it!
It’s the day before the new decade and everyone is sharing their reflections, resolutions, and deep thoughts. TL:DR: I don’t have any LOL. This year was one of being quiet for me. I worked my 9-to-5, gave my kiddos everything I had, and my husband and I tried not to strangle each other in the midst of adulting. There was no super amazing trip across the globe, no massive product launch, no body transformation and no new life event. It was a year of Just Being and it was fine. Of course, the way that I am wired – and the way that social media is setup – makes me feel like in the absence of major happenings and announcements that I am somehow failing at life. So part of my work this year was to sit in my state of Just Being and to embrace this season and its blessings.
2019 was literally the Year of Mom-ing for me! Between having a High School sophomore, an 8th grader and a new-to-Middle-School 6th grader and ALL OF THEIR DOGGONE ACTIVITIES AND COMMITMENTS, I had more than enough on my plate.
Whoever said that parenting gets easier as the kids get older was either lying or drunk. We had JROTC, Track and Field (always track and field), volleyball (league champions!), football (championship playoffs!), basketball, Beauty Camp, Speed and Agility Camp, Basketball Camp, chaperoning a 5th grade field trip to Mt. Vernon, executing a Spring Break Staycation, parties (aka kickbacks), a zillion mall outings, teen friend drama, a months-long elementary school book competition, band concerts, orchestra concerts, dance performances and more.
I also get the award for Best Softball League Commissioner’s Wife. Fight me.
If you’re reading between the lines you’ll quickly see that this means I had little time for me. Actually, let me rephrase: I made little time for me. I spent much of 2019 exhausted, sleep-deprived and chronically in pain. It was no bueno and is fueling a massive turnaround for the new year.
I did have some highlights though! Despite me putting my influencer brand on hiatus, I was still honored to be asked to speak at a number of events: VisionCon, EPICCon in Vegas, The Power Conference, The Social Scoop Summit, and Stumble and Bubble; I was named as one of 30 Black, Bold & Brilliant World Changers; and I was featured in The Washington Post with my dear family. At the beginning of the year I launched an online course portal that generated five figures worth of passive income, and then last month I hosted a virtual workshop called Clarity Compass with a cadre of fly brand building women. These dope opportunities were fruit of the labor of love that I’ve poured into for the last many years! A testament to the fact that hard work and passion is the gift that keeps on giving.
On the personal front, I got to enjoy visits from my 2 South Florida-based besties and their families, got to have numerous lunches with my #CliqueSquad and wwh sisters of the heart, and lots of laughs and drinks with my Rooftop Mochas.
Happily, I got to check off almost everything from my Summer Bucket List. I also recommitted to reading books. Once again I made friends with my local library branch and went to town. Some faves that I read this year: The Summer of ’69, Montauk, Behold the Dreamers, and The UnHoneymooners, among others. My reading goals were further made awesome thanks to my fabulous neighborhood book club – shoutout to the Red Wine BBC!
I turned 42! I also made a much-needed couples vacation to Montego Bay happen as well as a fun-filled day trip with out-of-town family to Manhattan, and a long-weekend Labor Day getaway with my girls to Virginia Beach. The latter half of the year I dug into getting to the bottom of my health issues and I’m making some progress: a possible Fibromyalgia determination along with a change in meds to help with the chronic pain and an upcoming sleep study to assess the existence of sleep apnea. It’s a process, and I’m making small but important strides.
As for 2020? I’ve settled on my Word for the Year and identified my 4 main goals. More on that in another post. For now, I’m leaning into my lessons, #wins and challenges from this past year. If you are like me and had a 2019 of Just Being, I encourage you to do the same. Instagram #Inspo posts be damned.
Talk to Me.