out with the old

2012 was a really fantastic year. Really great. My favourite things month by month:

January – our first annual family vacation up Mt Washington. Six days of skiing and connecting. Seeing the kids get along and enjoy each other was truly magical. I can’t wait to go again next week!

February- i got a ribbon in a 10k race for coming in 8th in my age group! There’s something pretty fantastic about a sport that lets you win ribbons, even when your forty.

March- i ran my fastest half-marathon of the year, but the best part was my young friend coming back out on the course to run me in the last kilometer. I’m still not used to having friends that are so darn nice. The encouragement and camaraderie i have experienced from running buddies has been amazing.

April- we lost our little bunny, Benni. He was such an awesome, unexpected pet and we were all very sad when he died. I still miss him. I also spoke at the Breathe Now conference in Victoria about blogging through mental illness. I’m pretty sure i didn’t do great, but i did it and it was a major challenge for me. So, it was a good thing to do and i’m proud i did.

May- i ran my first marathon in 4hours and 15 minutes. My family was with me every step of the way and pulled me through on the course. Shane was so supportive and amazing. It was a remarkable day. I can hardly wait to tackle this one again this year.

June- eliza, toby and tristan all had birthdays. As they get older the parties don’t happen as much anymore, but we make special dinners and try and spend quality time together. Eliza requested tacos, toby had lobster and artichokes and steak for tristan. Eliza graduated from Elementary School and i cried at her graduation. Lake time officially started and days once again revolved around swimming in the lake and hanging in the village.

July- it all becomes a blur. Wedding season was in high rotation. I worked and that was about it. Snuck a bit of beach time in there. This year i plan for a better work/life balance.

August- almost a ditto except Shane and i managed to send the kids off on various adventures, Tristan and Toby to Toronto and Parker and Eliza to Saltspring, and we stayed home and spent four days together. We swam, we slept, we went for runs, we cooked together. We re-grouped and re-focused on each other. It was fantastic.

September- school started back. The kids all are happy and doing well, really well in school. The most amazing thing is how well Toby is doing. He is not getting any extra assistance, he is on a modified educational program because of his learning disability, but the boy pulls out awesome grades and is one of the best friends a kid could have. I am so proud of each and every one of them. Tristan also got caught hitchhiking! with her boyfriend, this was one of the more minor infractions she pulled throughout the year. Mostly with that damn boyfriend by her side.

October- work slowed down and running sped up. Two half marathons in three weeks. Felt so good to be back in shape and moving my body and leaving the stressful summer behind. Shane and Eliza both ran a shorter distance race at both events too! So proud of them.

November- The boyfriend brought a three week old kitten to our house. We(I) rescued the kitten and he has turned out to be one of my greatest joys. He’s just at normal adopting age now and i just adore him. Shane wonders when he gets to not have a kitten sleeping in between our heads. (never) Same boyfriend and daughter also got lost on a boat in the middle of the night. The stories i have!

December- what’s not awesome about this month? Customers are happy and tip well, couples get engaged and book weddings, snow sometimes falls. It was a perfect month with the unexpected gift of getting my daughter back. She broke up with the boyfriend and though she was heartbroken, it meant we had more family time than we had in a very long time. We played board games, baked together, danced together. I hugged her when she cried. She took her little sister to her first concert. It was a really great year.