Positives of 2019 | Blogmas Day 31

It's New Year's Eve! The final day of the decade and the final day of what was a rather challenging year for me. I feel like I've spent a lot of time dwelling on the negative things that have happened to me this year, so I thought in order to close out 2019 on a positive note, why not highlight all of the good things that happened? There's always going to be a mixture of good and bad things that happen each year, and even though 2019 just happened to weigh heavier on the more challenging aspects of life for me, that doesn't mean that there was nothing good about the year at all. There was actually a lot of good! Let's take a look at all of the highlights of 2019 so that when I look back and remember the year, these are the things that pop out to me first. 😊

-Rang in the New Year Grandpa Joe style with the Doodie Gang

-Travelled to Southern California for the first time for the ACPA Mid-Manager's institute and had one of the best professional development experiences with my mentor group, Anat-ch Above the Rest

-Impromptu trip to Pittsburgh to watch the Patriots with the Super Bowl with our best pals

-Marathon #9 in Florida, including getting to spend time with my family and seeing Cassie finish her first 26.2

-Marathon #10 in Arkansas and laughing to much with Cassie on this random trip to Little Rock

-Visiting old pals at Mount Holyoke over spring break

-Finally finding our own place and getting out of a really toxic living situation

-Marathon #11 in Delaware and qualifying as a Marathon Maniac

-Somehow pulling off a sold out Spring Day concert despite the insanity of the semester and my personal life

-Finally registering for one of my bucket list races

-Airboating with Brett and my parents

-Brewery tour in Boston with Noble & Jon, and getting caught in a torrential downpour on our way back to the train

-Picking up some new knitting skills and falling back in love with crafting as a form of self care

-Qualifying for Half Fanatics, and subsequently, Double Agent status!

-Marathon #12 in Rhode Island and getting the wake up call I needed when it comes to running

-Halloween birthday celebrations for Brett with our favorite peeps

-Seeing my students work SO HARD and pull off some really amazing things this semester

-Seeing NFG live for the umpteenth time and them being just as incredible as the first time

-Selected for the 2020 BibRave Pro team

-Selected for the 2020 Chicago Marathon field

-Tried out ax throwing for the first time

And I'm sure there are dozens of other small moments from this year that I can look back on and smile.

Each year, folks put up a "Top Nine" of photos from their Instagram, which is based on the number of likes you receive on your posts. I've been posting a Top Nine for a few years now, but I opt to create my own Top Nine of the year, regardless of how many likes the photos I select received during the year. I think the Top Nine I created this year is pretty reflective of the list above, and it reminds me that even though I still feel the pain from all of the bad that happened this year, there is still so much to be happy and proud about from 2019.

I hope you all have a happy and safe New Year, and an incredible 2020! 🍾🎆🎉