What ACTUALLY Happened This Year?

Time for a behind-the-scenes Around the World “L” post — hopefully one that will help spur reflection. The other day as I was driving home, the newspaper delivery van in front of me suddenly sped into reverse. He plowed into my far smaller car, crunching off the whole front, bending the hood, and strewing debris of silver auto parts across the road.

Thankfully, a neighbor saw the whole thing and came out to help. A subsequent doctor checkup declared me unhurt (thank goodness!), and insurance will cover most of the extensive car repairs. But it makes you think, eh?

I share this story because it forced a pause to reflect: What ACTUALLY happened during 2023? If I stepped back to lay out all the numbers and facts from the last 365 days, what would this wild and momentous year look like in total? What has gotten done? What has changed? What’s been realized?

The results were fascinating, and my hope in revealing them below is to spark dialogue about what goes into our lives — sometimes hidden. Ready to see the stats? Here goes…

2023, in Numbers:

Therapy Sessions: 25

I’m leading with this statistic because I cannot emphasize enough how worthwhile therapy has been for myself, my co-parenting partnership, and everyone I know who has been open enough to give a therapist a try. As I reply to people who say that therapy is only for the weak, “Even Michael Jordan had a coach. We can always elevate our performance with techniques from a trained expert.” (Shout-out to “Ted Lasso” for also highlighting the positive power of therapy!)

As you can see from this statistic, in 2023 I did walk and talk Zoom therapy roughly every other week, consistently — and it made a world of difference. I know I’m kind of a broken record about this, but everyone I’ve encouraged to try has come back later to thank me… so I figure it’s worth another mention. If you’re in Massachusetts, check out the free service, TherapyMatcher.org, which can confidentially match you with an insurance-covered therapist (meaning the cost per session is often $20 or less) — for individuals or couples.

Articles Written and Published: 201

2023 was a BIG writing year, averaging about two articles a week, every week, for a total of over TWO HUNDRED published posts over the five websites that I currently run. (The fifth site was launched this year in January.) I’m not sure if I can keep up this pace in 2024, but I’ll sure try.

An important point of pride: I write each article that I publish from scratch — without the use of robots — and when photos are involved, I take each picture myself. In the case of my educational art site, DrawingsOf.com, I draw each and every illustration by hand… which totaled over 371 illustrations this year. This obsessive personally-crafted touch takes a tremendous amount of effort — but also brings brilliant joy.

Website Readers in 2023: 870,000

In total, my five websites had approximately 870,000 reads and over a million pageviews in 2023, which is exciting! Most of my focus this year was on building my third site (the cute drawings one), and though it’s still not at my goal numbers yet, it’s getting close at 40,000 readers a month.

Teaching Jobs Applied To: 53

The first half of 2023, I was still on a Leave of Absence from teaching, but became restless both emotionally and financially by mid-year, so began applying for jobs back in my local public school district… Fifty-three jobs to be exact.

After numerous interviews and much soul-searching, I opted for a major career shift to move from being a classroom middle and high school English teacher to a half-time school librarian for an elementary and middle school. Through a super-intensive set of online courses and tests, I was able to add library training and certification to become officially qualified. If we’re to continue the numbers game, I’ve now checked out 693 books to students since starting in September (and checked them back in, too — don’t worry)!

As I explained in my update about returning to teaching after a leave, going back to public school teaching was 100% the right choice — but (given that I’m still in the process of healing from the events of the past several years, and given that I have, ahem, many other things on my plate) only with the amended version of being a half-time employee, and shifting out of the classroom and into the library.

Reiki Sessions Given Clients: 159

During 2023, my Reiki practice took off so much that I had to raise prices to balance out the demand and not exhaust energy flow. I feel deeply thankful for this success and the many return customers and 5-star reviews. I suppose the lesson here is to trust the feeling if you look deeply inside and realize there’s something you may be able to offer the world. In fact, this vision to create my own Reiki studio materialized during a meditation in 2020, which leads to…

Meditation Minutes: 2,880

That’s right: in 2023 I meditated the equivalent of two full days: 2,880 minutes. As I explained in my detailed article on how to start daily meditation, just five minutes a day each morning can reset the whole system to prime it for awesomeness. The big breakthrough for me sticking with the habit has been to realize that meditation doesn’t need to be silent or still.

Years Off Alcohol and Coffee: 3

When I quit drinking alcohol in 2020, I thought it would only be for a month or two — but the positive effects have been so numerous, that three years into sobriety, I am delighted to stick with it. Quitting coffee in favor of green tea has also been surprisingly useful and nice.

Workout Programs Completed: 5

The most popular wing of this site is my super detailed workout reviews, so I can’t neglect the fact that I finished the following workout programs and wrote them up as reviews: “LIIFT MORE” with Joel Freeman, “Sure Thing” with Megan Davies, “XB Pilates” and “Xtend Barre” with Andrea Rogers, and “CHOP WOOD CARRY WATER” with Amoila Cesar. I loved each and every one of those program in its own way (except for the odd new “BODi Blocks“), and relish having the opportunity to try such a diverse array of exercise styles.

Miles Walked: 1,095

I’ve aimed to walk an average of three miles a day in 2023, and wow has it been delightful! Sometimes it’s six miles, and sometimes it’s one, but the average is solid, and I keep careful track of each week’s progress through the notes app of my phone, as I don’t do step watches. There are few times that a walk outside won’t make a person feel better. Highly recommend.

Books Read: 12

Despite becoming a librarian this year, the most deficient category of this 2023 stats list was my reading — and it’s one I plan to amend for next year. This year I read just a dozen books (and some were very short). Highlights were my friend Shubha Sunder’s award-winning short story collection, BOOMTOWN GIRL, and the classic novel that I read with a neighborhood book club, The Price of Salt (later made into the movie, Carol.)

Divorces Legally Finalized: 1

As I shared in my detailed (and sometimes bizarre) account of the divorce process, in March of 2023, our amicable separation was legally finalized, thus bringing court-approved closure to a journey that lasted many years. After a long time of silence, I finally started writing about it, in a manner that I hope is helpful and constructive. Given this, I’m thrilled that “What to Say to Someone Getting a Divorce” has just passed 14,000 reads — and thus is hopefully helping to prevent many of the odd comments that tend to surface during such a big life event.

I am deeply thankful for the collaborative co-parenting partnership we have created, and for the family therapist supports which have made this transition work well for our children.

Awesome Kids: 2

Right now our kids are 7 and 10 years old, and what splendid ages those are! I’m really enjoying this chapter of parenting, and thankful for the village around us who embraces us with love. I’m not spending a lot of this article talking about our kiddos because I’ve wanted to keep that and other aspects of my life private, but rest assured that providing them with the best family experience possible has been a central focus of each and every day of 2023. It is also at the heart of my quest for work-life balance — a balance which, despite these wild numbers here, I’m actually achieving to a better extent than I ever have before.

Friendship Milestone: 20 Years

In another aspect that I usually keep private, I have a best friend who I talk to each and every day — and this year we just celebrated our 20-Year “Best Friend-Aversary” since we met in 2003! WOW! Grateful from the bottom of my heart.

Glitches: 3

In addition to the car thing mentioned in the lead of this article, our family also had quite the adventure with head lice in the middle of 2023, as well as a double Strep Throat bout. Thank goodness for modern medicine!

Trips Taken: 5

When I started this site in 2009, it began as a travel blog only, so we definitely should touch on travel here. In 2023, I took fewer trips than usual, but that was fine because the ones I did do were neat, and I wanted time and space to rest and reset home in Boston. The first trip of the year was Salem, MA, where I got to see a sculpture in person at the Peabody Essex Museum that I’d been ogling online for years. It did not disappoint!

Next up was an international trip with my 7 year old daughter: Spanish immersion in Mexico, replete with a local homestay. It was phenomenal to watch my little gal experience another country for the first time in her memory, even if it was almost 100 degrees hot every day! (Back in 2015, my girl was in my belly at the top of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai — but that doesn’t count as a memory for her.)

After our annual family trips to Ohio and Upstate New York (Bash Bish Falls never disappoints!), I took a grand tour of things to do in Pittsfield, MA in Western Massachusetts — a region that is well worth a visit if you’re in the area. Speaking of what I did in Pittsfield…

Live Plays Seen: 6

2023 was (intentionally) a big year for seeing live theatre — especially Broadway musicals! (Browse my very dorky and detailed rankings of each at that link.) This year I saw “Cabaret” in Pittsfield with Krysta Rodriguez (!), “Evita” at the ART in Cambridge, MA, “Here Lies Love” on Broadway with Conrad Ricamora, “Fat Ham” and “The Real James Bond… Was Dominican” in Boston, and an incredible production of “The Band’s Visit” at the Huntington Theater.

It feels so worth it to spend time and money supporting art that affirms humanity! As for recorded entertainment, though I watch fewer things on screens these days, I did also enjoy finishing all of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (that ending was perfect!) and “Ted Lasso,” as well as watching the movie Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand.

Thanks, 2023!

Looking back at my January 1, 2023 notes, I had intended the “concept of focus” for the year to be: “COLLABORATION.” Honestly, though that certainly came into play and to fruition in numerous ways this year (thank you, dear village!) much of this year was about the internal journey of rebuilding all aspects of my life after the 2022 destabilizations of divorce and career shifts. If anything, the “collaboration” was actually me calling upon and unifying new parts of MYSELF. For example I didn’t know had the strength to install my window air conditioner alone, let alone take it out again at the end of the summer!

I close this year with profound gratitude for the human spirit’s ability to create new chapter upon new chapter of how our lives are set up. Stay tuned for exciting new plans for 2024, and please catch the positive energy I’m sending your way! Does anything here resonate or spur questions? Do share!