Good Riddance 2023...
Please give me even more strength for 2024...
I’ve seen so many end of the year recaps, and to be honest, I barely read them. So it’s a bit ironic that I have somehow convinced myself to write one. If you’re expecting the cliche happy-go-lucky type of recap, you’ll have to look elsewhere, because this ain’t it!
With 2023 nearly in the books, I can assertively report that I am not thrilled with the story it has told. All the intensive strength and cardio training I’ve been doing is clearly not enough to lift the weight of the world off my chest. Like a sadistic spotter, 2023 just kept piling it on!
As I mentioned in the very first post, my mental health has been a major roadblock, which has stifled the progression of so many things in my life since 2020. Yes, therapy is helping, and so is my daily exercise regimen. And yes, of course I am really proud of my accomplishments throughout the year, such as all the gains I’ve made with my training, writing and content production. So obviously it’s not all doom and gloom, but getting to an ideal balance generally feels like a Sisyphean endeavor.
I have an incredibly supportive family and group of friends. I have the world’s greatest wife (artist/writer of
), who proves to be all the more amazing and beautiful each and every day. And we got a puppy in September, so there’s never a dull moment in our house. He’s wonderful and full of energy, and hopefully he can become a much better running buddy when he shakes off some of his puppy habits. Although I don’t want to rush this time of puppyness, as I know from experience not to take anything like that for granted.
While we’ve gained a new wonderful fur friend, we also lost our sweet orange cat Nomi to brain cancer. His decline was fast, and excruciating for everyone involved. We thought we’d have more time with him, he was only nine years old. But having eight years with him was enough to make a lifetime of wonderful memories. He was our first cat. He moved into our house on the same day we did. The wonderful people who we adopted him from told us to keep him in one room of the house to let him acclimate and not be overwhelmed, but you’d be hard pressed to keep Nomi from doing what he wanted. He was a grade A alpha…This house was his from day one…But he was kind enough to share it when Ziggy, our second cat, meandered in from off the streets. They actually became fast friends! Nomi had a heart of gold.
I am glad that I have outlets like Substack to rant and reflect on. I’ll try to do more of the latter than the former, but sometimes a good harangue is needed. Actually, just writing this post is helping me lift some of the weight off my chest. And I thank you all for sticking with me. Thanks for subscribing. Extra special gratitude to those of you who have made an annual pledge to support my work. It’s been hard for me to get out there into the world because of my OCD thoughts, fears and rituals. Therefore, connecting on this platform with people who read my writing is a very meaningful experience for me.
I hope that when I am in this position next year, I have a markedly different outlook on life. I know there will be consistent struggles, simply due to the nature of my mental health, but there’s already so many reasons for me to exclaim “c'est la vie!” and grab life by the horns.
I wish you all a very healthy, happy and meaningful new year!
Some very significant milestones achieved in 2023:
Ran a sub six minute mile, and an average of seven miles in under an hour.
Went on some amazing road trips with my wife.
Saw a baby whale (aka, a calf) up close.
Made significant changes to my diet and my GERD symptoms diminished.
Some very significant milestones to come in 2024:
Turning forty…Summer of 2024 marks the series finale of my thirties!
Becoming an uncle!
Doing an muscle up. I will conquer all of my calisthenics goals!
Taking a road trip and seeing more of the countryside.
Weening myself off of social media scrolling/screen time.
Making great strides within the fitness community.
I hope one of your road trips next year will be to reunion in June… I look forward to sharing conversations and a drink (or 2or 3) with y’all on the porch again🤪 Then you can celebrate 40 with nonagenarians🥳 XO to your wonderful wife