Happy holidays I love you!

Good morning, my dear ones. I’m at my parents’ house and all is quiet. The tree stands quietly, brightly, next to the grand piano. Outside it’s snowy. It may actually be a white Christmas this year in Wisconsin; it’s been many years since we had that.

I’m taking advantage of the early morning quiet to think about 2024. As you may have noticed, there were some rough times in there. But there were also so many good things.

This was a year of travel: four work trips, two wedding trips, one bachelorette party, three family trips, Philadelphia for a half marathon, and Alabama to see extended family.

This was the year of moving into a bigger apartment (which I love and never want to leave) and the year of finding some ridiculously great friends.

In January we welcomed a brand new family member, my sister’s daughter, and I got to fly out to Wisconsin when she was just 10 days old and snuggle her tiny body. In October, I went to my grandmother’s wedding!

This was a year of hiking with friends, doing my first triathlon,¹ and celebrating long-long-long-time-friends at their bachelorette parties. Seeing the solar eclipse. Going to Kosovo (twice!) for work and seeing the Accursed Mountains.

Visiting New York City to see my sister sing in the beautiful cabaret that she also produced! Windy rooftop parties. Shuffleboard for my birthday. Hiking with Raja in the snow. Swimming with friends at Walden Pond most Friday mornings in the summer.

This was a year of becoming more and more myself.

This was also a year of seeing this project grow and having you all here with me – thank you, thank you, thank you! It has been heartening and astonishing to see this site grow from where it started 2.5 years ago up till now.

In May 2022 I sent to 15 friends and family members an email called “launching my website” in which I nervously asked them to read my first post. Sixty posts and 2,500 visitors to the site later, I have been amazed by how it’s grown and I’ve been so touched by the kind words you have shared about my personal essays (and sometimes rants).

You’ve written in or emailed or texted or sometimes called to tell me which posts have resonated most with you. I always love hearing from you, and it inspires me to keep growing this project and working on my memoir, even on the days when I say to Raja, ugh, why did I try to be a writer?

So when I look around, here is what I’ve got. I’ve got my family around me, which is the best feeling in the entire world. We have an endless supply of cookies baked by my brother-in-law. We have the Christmas playlist my family has been listening to on repeat since 2002, aptly named Christmas 2k2, on the speakers.

We have a three-year-old nephew who is a veritable Christmas joy-bomb, liable to burst out scream-singing Jingle Bells at any moment while shaking actual jingle bells up and down and bouncing his excited little body off the walls. We have an eleven-month-old niece who is a slightly calmer version of a Christmas joy-bomb, cooing and smiling up at everyone and saying “wow” at unexpected moments. And I have you!

Even amid all the good things I’ve just told you about, it was also a wacky year and now we have Trump again ughhhhhhhhhhhhh. For that and so many other reasons, I have zero predictions about 2025.

But for now, I’m just glad you’re here with me. Thank you for being you! Wherever you are and whatever holidays you may be celebrating (or not), I’m wishing you peace and joy and calm this end of year.

See you in 2025. ❤

What was the highlight of your 2024?

¹ Technically I did one in high school, but I did it in a bikini, so it doesn’t count. I count this year’s Boston Tri as my first “real” triathlon.

P.S. I loved you in 2023, too:

Thank You For Being You

by Georgie Nink December 24, 2023