Y’all, I’ll be honest – this post makes me nervous this year because I waited so much later than normal to start it. The first year I did my list of 25 things, both big and not so big, accomplished, it was late in the year and I learned right away that sometimes these “things” take time. But apparently this year I spaced that lesson and so here I am with just a week left in 2019, starting my list.

Let’s see how this goes….

1. Survived 12 entire months of constant house renovations this year. There was work before that and there will be work after it, but 12. Entire. Months. People in my house, my house torn apart, my family trying to exist amidst the chaos. I’m grateful we’ve been able to take on this remodel but I also wouldn’t recommend anyone else ever doing the same. It’s crazy making as much as it is beautiful making.
2. Survived 9 WEEKS WITHOUT A KITCHEN AND FIVE SMALL CHILDREN UNDER THE SAME ROOF. I promise every entry won’t start with the word “survived” and this will be the only one in shouty caps, but seriously – I’m clearly not over the challenge of that yet. It may be years or decades before I find it funny.
3. I taught 9 sections of college classes this year, mostly for Bellevue and one summer session for CCC. BU runs 12 or 10 week terms all year round, during which I am always teaching two sections of the same class. It’s a little nutters trying to work from home when 2/5 of my children are still here most/all of the time, but you know – it’s OK, and it’s making a lot of other things possible (see above), and I am so grateful to be able to do this work from home gig.
4. I stopped teaching yoga. I’m not saying “quit” because I still don’t know how permanent this is, but in August I made the decision to make more time for myself and my family and to do that, I had to set my business totally off to the side. And promise not to touch it for six months. When that time passes, I’ll reassess, but honestly, I don’t know. Yoga is a beautiful gift in my life and I love to share it with others, but I also need to put my own life mask on first, if you know what I mean.
5. I practiced a lot of at home yoga. I’ve done multiple months of every day practice with the YWA community this year. I’ve done some just making it up on my own. I love breathing and moving with others in a public class but I also love the beauty and the listening that comes from time with just me and my mat in my living room. It feels easier to make it my own when I’m on my own for practice.
6. I meditated for 172 days straight. And then I got sick and forgot. But 172 is my personal best for consecutive days of sit ever. It wasn’t pretty and there at the end, it wasn’t all that productive, but it was informative and helpful and will allow me to reorient and create a new, healthier version of the practice in the coming year.
7. Went to four* concerts: Guster with the Omaha Symphony (and my hubs) in Feb., Trevor Hall in Omaha in March (got to meet TH after the show thanks to an amazing surprise VIP pass from a friend), and T. Hall and Nahko co-headline at Red Rocks in June with some of my best girls. The fourth carries an asterisk because The Talbott Brothers were technically in Hastings three times this year – Flatwater, a street dance, and two nights at The Lark – and you can bet your sweet bippy I saw each one of those! And I even got a photo opp with the brothers, too! All magical musical medicine. I cherish every single opportunity I get to witness live music that I love.
8. (Finally!) Saw Hamilton!!! Ben and I got a night away in Omaha so we could see the show and hoby pokes, it was amazing. Our seats were in the way far back but we were there with friends, the cast was incredible, and I am so pleased with our anniversary/birthdays/Christmas present to each other. 😉
9. Read 65ish books to myself and another handful+ to the children (this does not include the literal hundreds of pictures/board/story books read this year).
10. Wrote 35 blog posts. This is my smallest in ages, but life, man. It got in the way this year and not everything is something I can share here, so, the number is what it is.
11. Took a sledge hammer to a wall in the basement, because, therapy.
12. Took the whole family to Kansas City for the Littles’ first MLB game – KC Royals vs. Linky’s team, the New York Yankees. I have never wanted the Royals to lose a game before, but they pulled it off in an extra inning.
13. Experienced my first late spring/early summer as a baseball mom. Some of my best guy friends in HS played baseball so sitting in the stands is nothing new here…it is still just as boring and glorious as it’s ever been!
14. Coached two soccer teams this fall with Ben, sometimes at the same time on two different fields! We had three kids playing and it was a wild six weeks, but with the help of grandparents, good friends, and our teams’ parents, we pulled it off!
15. Got our first real coffee maker (just a Keurig or pour over before). Both B and I now partake. Clearly I’m chugging the stuff right now because the !s are flying and so is this list (knock on wood). Bonus “thing”: I stopped adding any dairy to my coffee to end the year. Just a touch of raw sugar and I am good to go. Look Ma, I’m growing up!
16. Finished nursing my last-ever baby. It was bittersweet because it was all her call (that’s fine) but I would have gladly continued for years. How strange to close such a big (darn near 10 years of breastfeeding) chapter in my life.
17. Discovered that if permanent preventative measures had not been taken, I’d be yearning for a sixth baby right now. And by yearning I mean lobbying because I’m already yearning. I blame Wilson’s cuteness and the fact that we’ve never had a baby turn two without another one on the way soon after (or a wee bit before), so I really don’t know how to do this moving forward as a complete family thing, but I’m learning. Because, permanent. Prevented. It just is what it is. And what is, is good, even if I sometimes wish it could be different.
18. Got a standing desk because of unexplained, undetermined abdominal painthat started in June-ish and is maybe still happening (I say maybe because it comes and goes, so who really knows). Also tried meds, tests, an ultrasound, and acupuncture, and still not sure what’s really been going on, but as a side note, the desk is nice.
19. Bought my first pair of Converse sneakers (mind you, not every item on this list is soul searching or revealing). Love them.
20. Didn’t* buy clothes all year. *OK, so there were a couple cheats like fundraiser shirts and a sweatshirt in SD when it was freaking chilly in late-July and we had no long sleeves packed, but beyond that (and, I can’t lie, a duster and a jumpsuit) I did a solid job of shopping in my own closet or those of friends.
21. Got a way late start to watching both Game of Thrones and Shitt’s Creek but we’ve binged our way through all the seasons (OK, almost done with Season 5 of SC but definitely will be before Season 6 airs next month) and totally loved these two (totally, totally different) shows.
22. Did my first-ever speaking gigfor a local mom’s group. Apparently I still cry when I try to talk about body dysmorphia in public, but hey, I got through it.
23. Kept house plants alive for over a year! This is a freaking miracle unto itself and is perhaps, like the coffee, a sign of real adulthood!
24. Changed countless diapers, wiped endless bums, checked far more fevers than I ever would have cared to, did umpteen-million loads of laundry and ran the dishwasher at least 1.5 times a day….all in all, the life of a stay/work at home mama with five Littles. I don’t know if these count as “accomplishments” but good Lord, I need to document these days so when I look back on them in coming years I can marvel at how it all got done. (My guess? Totally the coffee.)
25. Finally learned how to curl my hair on trend/like a grown up/by myself! I’ve only been trying to do this for what, 20 years? Yay, me!!!!!!

And there ya have it. A lot of grown up growth this year.

I don’t know that I’d say I’m looking back fondly at 2019 just yet, but as always, this kind of reflection makes me pause and realize that yes, there was change and development and challenge and failure and success and life this year. And that’s all very much worthy of noting.

Whether you share yours or not, I hope you’ll give your own list a think; you may surprise yourself!

And also, proof of the houseplants. Because, truth telling.