Happy New Year My Beautiful Butterflies!!!
Holy Moly to the Nth Degree!!! I can't believe we're here in 2025. As I approached Leonora's first birthday at the end of November I started to reflect on where I was the previous year. Then, as we approached the Holiday season, that reflection and nostalgia truly kicked into high gear. Last year at this time we spent the Holiday season in Houston with a newborn. Our family lives in Ohio, and while we got some lovely visitors, we mainly cozied up just the three of us (plus Frankie) and navigated this life with a newborn. The holidays didn't feel like the holidays being so sleep-deprived in baby mode. So, this year everything felt extra special. We went to Ohio to be with family and celebrated as though this was Leonora's first holiday season. We watched Christmas movies, lit the menorah each night of Hanukkah, snacked on yummy holiday treats, and enjoyed the chilly weather amongst friends and family.
We're now back in Houston and I'm finding my bearings for 2025 and looking back at 2024. It was the year of change and adaption. After maternity leave, I had to learn how to create a better work-life balance and learn to embrace moving at a much slower pace. I had so many setbacks with work due to the gazillion illnesses that come with daycare and emotional pauses with my mom's stem cell transplant. But every time I felt behind Ricky would remind me this is a year of new standards and my best is different each and every week. I too had to remind him of this sentiment when he felt like he wasn't doing enough.
Despite all of these major changes and pivots, I dug into my creativity and tapped into my imagination for so many fun projects.
I painted the illustrations for the second book of the ABCs of Grief series and saw the first book make its way into the world and little hands all over the country.
I created 12 new paintings for a wall calendar that sold out before the end of December (Thank you to all of you who bought one for your walls). I navigated time with my family during and after my mom's treatment (she is in remission and her hair is growing back!!).
We took a trip to France with our sweet baby Leonora (with a few mini weekend trips along the way to prepare ourselves). I created beautiful chalk art, and adorable illustrations for clients and myself.
I worked on my children's book (while I didn't finish it I made so much progress and can't wait to wrap it up this year).
It was a year that moved at a slower pace but was a year that I learned how much can still be accomplished when you're moving at an intentional and deliberate pace. I'm hoping to carry this into 2025.
Looking forward I'm working on my hopes for the year. Amongst the list is of course finishing the book I wrote. I'm seriously so close ... at this point, it's more about getting this project out of my flippin' head so I can move on to other things. It's been a pet project that has ebbed and flowed in excitement...coming in and out of focus when I was inspired or needed a break.
I'm also excited to receive my copy of the ABCs of Grief: Emotions and Feelings later this year and work on Book 3 of the ABCs of Grief series.
I'm hoping to work on some back-of-house items that are less exciting from an artistic perspective but oh-so-necessary for growth. I'd love to hear what you all have in store for your year. I like to think of the new year as a mere continuation of the last. A way to build upon things that already exist or remove a few blocks from the pile of life to better focus on what matters. The New Year feels a little more hopeful and a little less stressful when I think of it that way.
Cheers to your 2025 my lovelies!
I'll chat with you soon,
Rachel