Week 16...Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024!

~December 27-January 2, 2024

Saying goodbye to 2023 is certainly a relief. It's been year, that's for sure. Lots of lessons learned in 2023, however I'm looking forward to a fresh start in 2024. I always choose a word for the year and this year I picked "JOY" again. Finding joy, celebrating joy, soaking in the joy...I need it all again this year. We kicked off the new year with Shatto strawberry milk! We both have felt run down since Christmas and we decided a quite New Year's Eve at home would be perfect for us. It was and I'm so glad we allowed ourselves to do something different this year. I often have the fear of missing out (FOMO) and I've realized in order to do new things and have new experiences, I must let go of some of things I've done before. I'm glad we both agreed to be home bodies this year. I know I felt a lot better on January 1st!

The other thing I love about a new year is a new planner. Yep, I love my paper calendar! It's even more important since I'm 'retired' or not officially working. Sounds crazy I know, but I like to be busy and find purpose in my days. Being able to see my weeks on paper and fill in my Goal of the Day is necessary for my mental health. Keeping track of the days of the week is much harder as a retiree. The saying every day feels like a Saturday is really true! A new journal is my other favorite treat. Journaling allows me to sort out my thoughts and feelings. I try for daily journaling, but typically it's a few days a week. I've realized going back to reread my entries is therapeutic too. I've identified patterns in my emotions and my problem-solving strategies. This has been helpful for my daily outlook.

We also saw a great movie this week. All five us went to the movies on Tuesday...$5 Tuesdays is an amazing deal! We saw The Boys in the Boat. All of us liked it! It was a movie I knew immediately Mom and Dad would have loved as well.