2024 Year End Review (a year late)
As I started thinking about what to write about 2025, I realized I hadn't made my end of year post from 2024. It was mostly written so I don't know what stopped me!
SPOTIFY VS. PANDORA
This is a funny one but I finally gave in and now pay for Spotify Premium. I was holding on to Pandora because I like the way you can listen to an artist “radio” or shuffle some or all of your stations, but wanting to listen to a specific album finally got me curious to give it a try. I found out that Spotify includes audiobooks, and now I may get rid of my Audible subscription that I've had for 10 years! I'm slowly moving over artists to Spotify and deleting them from Pandora as I go, so it's been a slow death to Pandora.
2025 update: I cancelled my Audible subscription. I also recently found out that Spotify is running ads that go against my values. I'm irritated, but I'm committed now so I just have to hope they go back to supporting causes I care about and not just running ads for anyone who will pay.
TRAVEL
I started 2024 in Prescott, Arizona and got to visit the Grand Canyon and Sedona with Mike.
In April we took an unforgettable trip to Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas for the solar eclipse. I can't remember if I shared the story, but I had to book the cabin overlooking a canyon one full year in advance for this, at midnight when reservations opened. The entire park including the lodge and campground was fully booked within hours. This is probably the only time in the past 5 years at least that I stayed up that late. I was in queue for over an hour and had so much adrenaline when it was my turn!
I got our Porcupine Mountain State Park campsite right on rocky lake Superior for our annual family camping trip. It was so nice and relaxing being right on the lake that we didn't feel the need to go on as many adventures.
I finished 2024 in Tampa, Florida, and I am very grateful for a bit of warmth at the start of winter. I'm going to hibernate when I get home and continue working on creative projects to help me get through until spring.
SPEAKING UP ABOUT FRAGRANCES
This year I started speaking up regularly about fragrances and how I cannot be around them. It seems like the more I speak up, the more I need to speak up. It has been exhausting. I'm glad that some folks have been open to learning more about how toxic fragrances are, because that makes it feel like the effort has been worth it.
While looking for my annual TrustedHousesitters gig, I had multiple conversations and applications turned down because of fragrances. I have a strong profile and system for my application message, so when I apply I usually am asked to set up a call to discuss more. I learned it's best to be very clear on my profile about fragrances and once they request a conversation to not waste anyone's time by confirming they don't use plug in air “fresheners,” wax melts, or reed diffusers before even scheduling a call.
This was also a testament to the power of our energy - because I was anxious about finding a good fit, it took me significantly longer to find one than in previous years. I had finally let go and decided if I couldn't find one that it would be okay and I would just need to rejoin the gym so I could have access to a sauna for winter. Literally the next day I found a sit.
THERAPY
I dipped my toes back into the mental health therapy world last summer with 5 free sessions through my employee Assistance program (EAP). I got to try EMDR and it was very helpful. I think it made a big difference for me but we'll see next spring/summer when my toughest grief season comes around again.
I decided I'm going start going to weekly sessions starting in January 2025. I met a therapist at the annual health fair at work and chatted with her about her experience with a few things and I'm going to give her a try. This option is usually capped at 8 sessions so after I'm done with that I'm going to try to find a good fit for longer-term therapy. I'm still very interested in more body-based modalities like Somatic Experiencing or similar. I'm looking at these 2 “trials” as an opportunity to come up with a list of questions to ask a future therapist to hopefully find a good fit.
I'm still frustrated by the expense of therapy and how often the best therapists don't even accept insurance because their reimbursement rates are so low. Therapy needs to be affordable AND therapists deserve to be paid more. I don't know where the balance is.
I TURNED 40!
On Friday, September 13, 2024 I turned 40! I wrote a list of 40 lessons I've learned in 40 years and put it in a blog.
SELF-ACCEPTANCE
The biggest lesson I learned though, is that I still sometimes struggle with self-acceptance. I took an intro course for Somatic Studies and had fun reading my final paper from 2017 when I initially took the course compared to my experience and paper from this semester. I am thinking about pulling some info from them and posting as a separate blog. (One year later I'm not confident this will happen.)
Basically I've been frustrated in trying to “get back” to my old yoga routine, when what I would like to do is to ask myself what I need NOW. It isn't 2019 anymore. If I set a goal and don't meet it, I need to have compassion for myself and be okay with it. As I learned when in a program to be a health coach: “You either win or learn.”
“If your compassion does not include yourself it is incomplete.” —Jack Kornfield
