I really love my new job!

He said

With Christmas out of the way last weekend this week was about slowing down and enjoying a little bit more of leisurely pace. Having to work right up to to close on Christmas Eve gave me next four days off. Starting last Sunday I was on a run of days off that didn’t see me back at work until Thursday at noon to close the store. Four straight days off with Emelia and Danielle was the perfect answer to what was a very busy retail season at the store. And whats more to the point, I didn’t realize just how much I was needing the days off together until I was knee deep in them.

Thankfully with Emelia’s new job at the theatre it didn’t mean she was working crazy hours—while she did have some days to work in the week, they mostly mirrored the days I was working too. And the best part was her schedule for the most part coincided with mine which made getting her home at the end of the night a lot easier. And even better is she is really loving the job. We were worried that after the newness of it wearing off, that it might lose its charm. She’s making new friends and quite enjoying the new responsibilities. I assume that when the first paycheque hits her account she will love it even more.

On the biking front for me, I managed to sneak in a couple more rides before the end of the year and December which included one final ride on Friday, the second last day of the year (and month). That ride took me to my (Lucky) 13th ride for the month which put me well past my record from last year of 7 rides—almost doubling it! But already in January I got another 2 rides—one of those on Sunday with Danielle! I am so happy with how riding went this past year and already know with how it’s going, I am going to celebrating that much more this time next year. The biggest hope is to get in at least one ride in February which was the only disappointment in my riding year, last year.

This week while Danielle and Emelia still have days off for school and work I am back at it. It would be nice to continue with some more time off with them, but this weekend I am going into a whole weekend off with them before we all get into the regular run of work-school-work. And legitimately – for me anyway – January is where I start to really feel like the camping and biking seasons are getting closer than they are farther away. It feels like it’s okay to start countdowns and that is totally okay by me!

She said

This week I want to focus on some highlights of this past year. It has been a very big year in our life. My first big was a massive career change. After years of professional development I was able to get my dream job at Western University. I have wanted to work at Western for years and I have to say now a year later I love it more today than I did when I started. This year of growth and new friendships has been life changing for me. I am so happy with this big change not only for me professionally but for our family.

Another big change for us was changes for Emelia. She not only tried a new sport in softball this year she has expanded her friends group at school and beyond. She has really grown this year. After years of struggling to find her way she has become more confident and sure of herself. She has really started to know who she is as a person, she sees the value so brings to the world and is starting to stand on her own. She came into her own in high school. Not only did she adapt well to high school she excelled. We were able to go her school this year to watch her get honours with excellence! She has become more active in school and making new connections.

The other big event for Emelia this year was getting her first job. A few weeks ago she started working at the movie theatre and is thriving there. She is making new friends already and is really loving working with a ton of kids her age. This year was a big year of discovery, activity for all three of us! John took on some huge challenges doing some big bike races and as we move into the new year we both plan on getting out together for longer rides!

All in all I am not only proud of what we accomplished this year but what the next year is going to bring for all of us! So Happy New Year to everyone, we are hoping this year will bring good health and happiness for everyone in our lives.