December Reflections

It's hard to separate reflecting on the last month of the year without reflecting on the year as a whole. However, this month was full of adventure, so I will reflect on 2022 and some key takeaways and memories from this year in a later post as I will be increasing my posting cadence (which I started already with the Cedar Key Escape post I published earlier this week). Right now, it's all about December!

COCA's PhotoFest 2022 was rescheduled to Dec. 1 after Tropical Storm Nicole graced the Tallahassee area with her presence during its original opening date in early November, so Chris and I attended with my folks as my dad had two photos selected to be a part of the exhibition. I'm honestly glad that the opening was delayed because that meant Dad got to be there - which was good since he came away with an honorable mention!! With so much time spent on schoolwork in the last few weeks, it was nice to get out of the house and have something else to think about. That also spurred some ideas on better incorporating working on my dad's site and stuff in collaboration with my work, school, and schedule - more to come on that!

Fortunately, my class ended at the end of November, so I started my process of unwinding from that straight off - OK. Technically, I started that after I helped Chris finalize his application for an Ed.D. program that was due on the first of the month. That first weekend after my class was done, I slept and read a ton of comics. I'd hoped to start decorating for the holidays, but I needed rest, and Chris was still finalizing his class. It also gave me a little extra time to prepare for the holiday party that I would be driving to in Orlando the following week! I was also named an ambassador for my grad program at WVU, which I’ll dig into next semester, so the rest and reading were very needed.

Back in October, I received an email about interest in an in-person holiday party for work as a good number of us are located in Florida - and while it's a 4-hour drive to Orlando, I couldn't pass up the chance to meet some of my coworkers. I also took the opportunity to take a day to enjoy Disney World on my own before we move. I was in Orlando for less than 72 hrs, but it was a whirlwind! It ends up that I work with some very close family friends from my childhood!! I was in tears beside myself at the holiday party when I made the connection. Cindy realized it first and asked me some questions to ensure I was actually who she thought I was, as it has been nearly 30 years since we'd seen each other - and I'm 35 y'all! Her daughter is just a little younger than I am, and we went to the same preschool, but my family was close with them because her former husband was a student of my dad's. The two of them were very close to my parents but lost touch after they moved a few times and then divorced; we've talked about them when recounting memories for years! To me, they were staples in my younger memories - the pre-school, "Lola Street" memories (the first house my parents lived in here in Tallahassee). When I realized who she was, I just collapsed into her arms for a giant hug. It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about such an incredible connection!

Cindy and Dani! Last time I saw them, I was MAYBE in elementary school!

I also got to meet several other content managers I regularly work with; one who just started a few months ago and has worked 1:1 with me to take over one of my partners and get her trained in general. The other is someone I have become very close with, and I will admit that she was a good 60% of my motivation in making the trip down, as I couldn't move from Florida without meeting her in person first! It was such a lovely event - not too many people, but enough to meet new folks I don't work with regularly (and make old connections!).

The following day I slept in a bit as I didn't sleep too well - the come down from social events like that, even as small as it was, can be a lot for me to unwind from. I usually like to be at the parks as soon as they open, but I also wanted to enjoy my time and not feel like shit. This day was for me, so I got up when I felt ready and walked into Magic Kingdom by 10/10:15. I had nothing really planned other than to enjoy myself - and that's exactly what I did! I walked around and soaked in all the memories and nostalgia. If anyone had been with me, I probably would've gone on a few more rides than I did, but one of the fun things about the rides to me is sharing that experience with a loved one. I did walk through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, and I rode the Dumbo ride as it holds a dear place in my heart and has a great view of the park and castle. But mostly, I walked, listened, and absorbed the sights and sounds of the most magical place on Earth. That said, I got a Park Hopper pass so I could soak in the bliss of EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios - all 30,000+ steps of bliss! If you’re a Disney parks fan but haven’t ever done a solo day or even trip, I highly recommend it. It’s definitely something I will be focusing on in a future blog, but for my Florida peps, Disney does have a Florida Resident discount for on-property resort hotels through the end of April (which I didn't get to stay at because they were all booked except the super mega expensive ones - it was my first non-Disney property stay which was a little sad but oh well).

I also made sure to take time out to visit with one of my best friends in Orlando. We’ve been friends since middle school, and I couldn’t not catch up with her! While we live in the same state, we see each other about once a year or so around the holidays. I was hoping to do a bit more traveling and visiting with her with my new job, but it’s just been a busy year…we’re planning and scheming though!

Gosh - it really was a jam-packed month. This doesn’t even include all the work happenings, and we haven‘t gotten to the holidays yet - which is exactly why I did a separate blog recapping that Cedar Key trip! We did have a week post-Chris getting done with his class and me coming back from Orlando for us to decompress and have a semblance of normalcy before heading to Cedar Key. It was so great to see the stress melt off of Chris in that time. He’d been sleeping so horribly during the fall semester, and while he continued to sleep poorly into the holidays, he was at least able to rest and reset during the break. AND his sleep slowly improved. He worked so hard, so it was really great to see him take time for himself.

Between that week and the 4 days, we had down in Cedar Key, we went into Christmas weekend feeling present and grateful. We were indulging in hot cocoa and tea as that winter storm headed our way (we didn’t get any of the ”storm” part of that other than record low temps for nearly a week straight in our area!), and we’d watch Christmas movies, wrap presents, and rest together. It was definitely a good way to recharge as we planned to spend Christmas Eve with Chris’ mom and Christmas Day with my folks, sister, and brother-in-law. And it was a whirlwind of a weekend! Lots of laughs, games, food, and fun rounded out a wonderful week off from work. I was super happy to have Monday the 26th off, though, as a little reset was needed before logging back into work.

Luckily logging back into work wasn’t bad - I felt rejuvenated and ready to go, but because of the staggered weeks we’re allowed off during the holidays, I got to concentrate on my projects and work on my time. I spent a good portion of it working from the couch, which was great! It allowed Chris and me to talk about wrapping up the end of the year and jumping into 2023 feeling organized! It also allowed us to talk about house hunting in West Virginia, which we put off during the crazy end of the semester. We noted several times how while I was back to work, the freedom and understanding that it was still the holiday season in the company made for a very relaxed back to work environment.

And so, with having gotten our latest Covid booster yesterday, Chris and I are wrapping up 2022 relaxing and enjoying the last little bit of relaxed downtime together before I head back to work along with everyone else and the spring semester starts. Here's to a glorious 2023 with tons of excitement, adventures, and growth!