Tying up the loose ends

I’m not much for end-of-year posts, but this year begs for different.

January found us desperate to finish the ill-conceived house-building project we undertook. When we first romanticized the idea, we agreed that we would not move into this house until it was fully complete, 100% finished. Someone should have shot us back then, but maybe this is why we can’t see the future: we would never start anything.

On January 2, I took a few photos of the fresh, clean paint job that would be trashed by all the building left to be done before we could actually move in. Ignore the paint spray on the windows. I’ll scrape that off later with a single-edge blade.

Siding went on and we learned we were expecting grandbaby #13. One of those was much more exciting than the other.

And our sweet friends came and installed our wood floors, kitchen cabinets, and put up all the trim. We would still not be in the house if it weren’t for their hard work that week and I am not even kidding. They could have their own DIY show.

After all that hard work we needed a break, so in February we went to Florida for a week with our RMO leaders.

March was the sink saga. You can read about it here if you missed it. It was a long month.

April brought countertops and tile and me learning to paint doors and the birth of grandbaby #12.

It also brought the birth of Poppy, who we didn’t think would live but amazingly did.

And look at her now!

There are very few photos on my phone from May. Apparently all I did was go for a walk, but it was a much-needed one and good for my soul.

By the end of June, appliances were installed and Ben sanded the wood flooring. I would not have survived this phase of the project without my incredible daughter-in-love who voluntarily came over with two shop vacs and all the kids and helped me clean the mess so we could poly the floors.

In my spare time I sent videos of the skunk family that lived under the gazebo next to my current house to the associate pastor, lest he think I was kidding.

June 30, for the eighteenth or hundredth time, we packed our life in a U-Haul truck and moved, this time to the yet-unfinished house on the farm. At least it would save us a thousand dollars a month in gas.

On July 1, we woke up in our new home to a rainbow over the pasture. But who has time to enjoy such things? Ben immediately went to work hauling the hay we would need for winter, while Amy came back and set up my kitchen for me. A few shelves were put up, some cows went to market, calves were weaned and the bull put in with the cows, and on July 19, Ben had his rotator cuff repaired.

Grandbaby #13 was born, and life was supposed to slow down.

What was I thinking? Does my life ever slow down?

No. The answer is no.

At the end of August Daddy had a stroke and I began staying with Mom during the week in Northern Virginia and coming home on weekends. It took me a while to understand that this concentrated time with my parents was a gift.

In October we got away to Colorado to see these sweet babies and do a little hiking.

And I don’t know what happened to November.

In early December we moved Mom and Dad into assisted living, and the month has been dedicated to helping them with this huge life transition, which has not always been easy for us or them. Just last week Daddy had a bout of pneumonia that took him to the hospital for a few days and where the rest of us picked up a stomach virus, Merry Christmas and you’re welcome. Also, your dishwasher is broken. Can we please have a new year now?

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There is just one more thing I want to cover here, and it’s not the books I read in 2023, though that would be a great topic. That list was abandoned halfway through the year, but I would love your suggestions for next year’s reading. If you read anything truly great this year, please do tell.

What I wanted to say is that I only made two kinds of Christmas cookies this year due to lack of time. First, I made my Jewish grandmother’s rugelach—a pastry thing rolled up with a nut/sugar/cinnamon filling that I used to think was the best. I was very disappointed in them this year, but let me tell you about the other cookies I made.

Remember when I said I was sick of all the cookies I make and asked for suggestions? Well. My daughter Leah sent me this link and said, “Skip the icing; it is so not needed” and I thought they sounded like they might be good, and they were different, so I decided to try them.

You. Guys. (Sorry, my inner Yankee comes out when I’m excited.)

These are amazing and delicious and they are my new favorite of all time. And I can attest that the rolls of dough keep just fine in the refrigerator for five days even though the directions say one. I rolled the chilled dough in powdered sugar before cutting them and skipped the icing and they are to die for! I think shortbread might be an old-person thing, and if so, I am guilty. These are so very good!

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Apologies for the length of this email, but I want to be able to look back on 2023 and remember why I got nothing accomplished. Today I am reminding myself that I am not what I get done. I am more than a checked-off to-do list. Loving my people well is the most important contribution I can make, and I can be satisfied with that.

Thank you for sharing this space with me. Thank you for comments and DMs and shares and encouragement. I’ll be taking the rest of the week off so my brain can defragment before the new year.

May your last week of 2023 bring you peace and the knowledge that you are loved beyond measure by the King of kings.