I thought about sending a holiday card this year, I did.  But then it fell through the cracks of everything else going on around here, as is the case in recent years. It occurred to me at one point, if I was ever going to write one of those holiday letters, this would be the year to do so, as it’s been quite the eventful year for us.  Which is when I got the brilliant idea to just do one of those in this space, seeing how pretty much everyone that reads here regularly are either related to us or friends.

Perhaps the biggest news of the year (or not) is that Pat traded in the pickup truck for a Prius. This was prompted by a recent job change, his first in 20 years to not come with a vehicle or fleet of boats. That’s right, we are down to just the boats that belong to us in our yard, which is rather strange when you think about how many years people in this town used his old CBF canoe fleet as a landmark. (In other news, I had no idea we owned as many boats as we do!) He’s the new Land & Water Policy guy for the Virginia Conservation Network.   He started last month and we are still feeling our way around the changes that are involved with his new position. It’s more Richmond based (hence the Prius) and his new busy season is during Virginia’s General Assembly period – the winter, which is quite the change for us all.

I am still working in the little real estate office I’ve been at for the last 2.5 years as an admin, but I made the big move of getting my real estate license this year and officially have my first listing as a Realtor! I’m also still doing quite a bit of free lance writing – I write for both a Lynchburg publisher as well as a Charlottesville one, having my work featured in a variety of publications from here to Roanoke. I’ve recently accepted the position of Home & Garden Editor for CharlottesvilleFamily‘s Bloom magazine which means I have a regular monthly deadline. I would like to point that that while I might be able to write about lovely garden and housekeeping habits, I still struggle to apply them to my own life, so nothing’s changed there. I also still have my Tuesday afternoon afterschool cooking class at the school down the street, only I now run that program, which means I do all the planning and shopping for all the days the cooking classes run as part of the afterschool program. I’ve been lucky to have some fantastic kids this semester as well as terrific support from school staff, which makes this job my absolute favorite of all of them.

Edie girl had her last summer as a camper at Camp Lachlan this past summer.  I know, it doesn’t seem like that long ago she was heading off for her first summer as a camper, does it? She recently got her driver’s permit, which I am both ridiculously excited and terrified about. We currently spend a good bit of time together as I get her places and I’m a wee bit sad to let go of that, although only a wee bit. She is in the early morning choir and orchestra at school as well as on student council, so a good bit of our time together is spent going back & forth to the high school, where I like to do a slow roll through the parking lot with my music too loud for my daughter’s taste and the dog hanging out the back window.

It’s been a busy year and at times, a hard one. Along the way, we have been reminded time and again this past year what a wonderful tribe we’ve built here in Charlottesville and beyond.  It has certainly helped keep us grounded with our chins up, no matter what came our way. In so very many ways, it’s the little things indeed. Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas and may 2018 be onwards & upwards for us all.

(Family photo credits to our friend Winter, who snapped these at Thanksgiving.)