It’s difficult to believe that 2022 is coming to a close. This was the year of many activities and full schedules, a product of my kids growing older and the post-pandemic reopening of the world–a new season of life as a parent. I didn’t cross off many of my goals for 2022, but I did fully enjoy my time watching others grow and flourish. Here’s to another year of wonderful life in 2023 and hopefully a few more goals met during the next 365 days.

A few highlights from 2022:

Writing and Publishing: My story, The Wicker Demon, was accepted by Eastern Iowa Review for Issue 14: The Elven Collection (I will post when it goes live). I also finished the first draft of a whimsical middle grade novel and submitted a finished project throughout the year.

Mushroom Hunting: My wife and I took a foraging and mushroom identification class and it was one of my favorite activities of the year. We will continue to learn and pursue this passion as a couple.

Books: My favorite book this year was Stop Fixing Yourself by Anthony De Mello. There is a lot of wisdom in this man’s writings. I also loved Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty.

Podcasts: I continue to get the most value out of The Minimalist podcast. I subscribed to the private podcast and they added TK Coleman as a regular, both of which have enhanced my experience.

Movies and TV: My wife a I finally sat down and watched Stranger Things. We absolutely loved it (oh the 80s nostalgia) and binged all four seasons during the months of October and November.

On to 2023! This year I will let go of the things that get in the way of time spent loving my family and working on projects that bring me joy. When there is space, creativity can flourish. Clearing away the physical clutter, emotional clutter, digital clutter, etc. can create a calming environment where I will either be more productive, or even better, at peace.

Thank you for reading. May you be in a calm place in 2023, full of possibility and creativity. Best wishes and big hugs.