Here at the end of the year, there’ve been a couple of times I’ve found myself scrolling back through the photos of this year.
Here are some specific takeaways:
- I need to stop taking 27 pictures of the same thing/ moment.
- I take pictures of just the dumbest things.
- My specific sense of humor has resulted in numerous screenshots of the most random pictures compilation in the history of mankind. Did I still cackle when I saw said screenshots? Absolutely.
Because after all, if you can’t count on yourself to make you laugh, who CAN you count on?
But along with those thoughts
These pictures let me relive this past year, and I was grateful for that.
What the pictures reminded me was that, while there were ‘just a couple’ of important happenings this year (read: the election, from start to finish), there were also many fun, yet inconsequential, happenings of note in my life.
Why remember the big stuff when the smaller stuff was so much fun?!
Here are some of those ‘minute happenings:’
The word for the year was ‘pickleball.’
Trey and I were obsessed last year: this year was much the same.
I’m so grateful for the Cochran courts, and I believe with all my heart that we have the best set-up in the state. We also have an incredible pickleball association: naturally, I’m partial, but our pickleball crew is hard to beat!
This year, we played in several tournaments, and there were matches galore played outside of the tournaments.
Come to think of it, far and away, we spent more weekends playing pickleball than not this year: it’s a favorite Saturday activity for us.
The weekends we didn’t spend on a pickleball court were, at times, nice: there is a slower pace to Saturdays that’s a good change-up every once in a while.
But only every once in a while.
We got a puppy.
Okay, okay, okay.
So, we didn’t get a puppy. Our neighbors- my parents and Zayden- did.
Needless to say, it took approximately five minutes for us all to collectively lose our minds over said puppy.
Like I said, it belongs to Zayden, Pippa, and Poppy, but by and by, I like to think we will share custody.
At the very least, we will love him equally.
Trey and I are already on the fence on whether or not we want a dog. He is wholeheartedly in, but I have some reservations.
What? You want me to put a percentage on it?
Okay.
I’m 37% sure I want a dog. That is approximately 359% more than before we knew and fell in love with one Buddy Meadows, who might just be the goodest boy in doggy history.
He can fall asleep in total chaos, and that is the quickest way to all of our hearts.
I’ve discovered quite the penchant for candles.
Again, this is a recap of totally inconsequential things, and this one could top the list (although the next one might just take the cake).
I have, all of a sudden, become obsessed with candles, and really, anything that olfactorily brightens up the trailer.
I think this has something to do with the Christmas season, but I hope it never goes away, because our place has never smelt better.
It all began with an early fall obsession with the Thymes Frasier Fir candle (if you know, you know) and since then, my desire for our house to smell like a winter wonderland has been insatiable.
There is currently a Teakwood Cashmere candle in the bathroom, and there is a Diva Tyler candle in the living room. There is a Tobacco Leather candle right beside it, and there are Spruce Glade plug-ins in the wall.
All there for easy access.
Someone. Send. Help.
There was a bump in the road.
This might be the most redneck thing you’ve ever heard. Lend me your ear.
Following Hurricane Helene, there was a massive dip in the road where an even more massive pipe had broken.
The county came in, replaced the pipe, and filled in the road with gravel.
Amusingly, this turned into a monstrous bump, and when cars hit it going full speed (as they are wont to do on our road), they would fishtail.
This fishtailing was for a simple sedan. Throw in a tractor trailer or a truck hauling a boat?
Oh, what fun.
Trey and I got into the habit of putting rocking lawn chairs in the front yard just to watch these folks go over this bump.
It was the kind of comedy that only small town folk can truly appreciate, and the trailer park of one got the biggest kick out of watching this situation.
Shout out to Mike Davis for filing in that immense hole, though. The man is a town hero, even if he did cut back on some of the giggles we got along the way.
We enjoyed some old and new spots this year.
The line-up included Guntersville, Destin, Memphis, Blue Ridge (and surrounding mountain towns), Atlanta, Huntsville, Fernandina, and Thomson.
The list goes on and on.
We continue to travel, and we have numerous trips on the book for this upcoming year.
There are few things Trey and I love as much as getting up and going.
I’ve learned sleep is Precious.
For the past eight years, I’ve had the most delightful habit of falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
That ended abruptly this year around August. Unfortunately, there was about a two month long stretch where I got one good night of sleep a week.
There would be some weeks where I would stay up for a full 24 hour period, and then the next night, I would sleep for about two hours.
It was rough.
I would sob in bed as I longed to sleep well. Or really, to fall asleep at all.
I cried more in a two month span over not sleeping well than I did in 2022 and 2023 put together.
Life can be tough, man.
Luckily, I am on the up and up. I’ve been sleeping better for the most part. But August-October were probably some of the toughest months I’ve had as an adult.
It got to the point where I was having near anxiety attacks and minor hallucinations when driving.
No biggie.
Sleep is important, kids!
ChatGPT was the year-end MVP.
Now, I know that as an English teacher, I must stand firm against the onslaught of AI.
HOWEVER.
When used correctly…what a great tool.
My workout routine got into a bit of a lull toward the mid- to end of the year, but ChatGPT came to the rescue.
I simply type in what I’m looking for in a workout, and it spits one out that fits my fancy.
I have been so sore for the past two weeks, and it’s a great feeling. I strongly suggest this if you’ve hit the same plateau.
Vacation Bible School continues to surprise and thrill.
When I started to get back into VBS a couple of years ago, I did not expect it to be a long haul. I especially did not expect to go up with the same group every year.
Praise God for Ansley Giddens who walks this road with me year after year.
We are with Zayden’s group, and you have never seen such a group of loud, active boys (God bless those sweet girls).
By the end of the week, we all look like we’ve aged fifteen years.
Our kids (largely) love recess, and they find it particularly hard to sit still during Bible time.
Our kids fight to have the marker first in crafts, and they are the loudest group in the snack area.
Our kids do not dance at the specified moments, but they all gritty like their lives depended on it.
Someone, please tell that Kotara lady that she might just be the worst leader in the place.
SOMEONE TELL HER TO QUIT ALREADY.
TELL HER TO STICK TO THE HIGH SCHOOL CHILDREN.
The singlewide is still standing and standing strong.
Our home is my favorite place in the world.
I love escaping the children, both of the high school and Vacation Bible School sort, and living in this place.
There have been a couple of times this year on easy, slow weekends where I’ve truly thought to myself that I’m the luckiest woman in the world.
Honestly? I think that just about every day.
I’m so grateful for a safe place to live, and I’m grateful for where we are, both in life and in our living situation.
God has been so good to me.
I can’t imagine this life getting any better than it is right now.
I’m so thankful for all I have: I have the best husband, an incredible family, friends I love more than I can even put into words, a job I adore, and a home that smells like a Bath and Body Works shop.
What more could I want?
But because I can’t end there…
What are some goals for next year?
I just want to smoke more briskets.
That’s it.
Easily Excitable 
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