When it comes to reflections and resolutions, never waste a new year, I say. Our family is moving to Spokane later this month (more on that in my next post). 2023 is the conclusion of five great years in Maryland, and 2024 marks the start of a new adventure.
A New Baby
The best part of the year, by far, was welcoming little Eloise to our family. So far, she’s a doll. A true milk guzzler, easy sleeper, loves a cuddle. It’s been easier than our first in every way. I attribute most of that to our increasing comfort as parents. We’re more willing to give up our time, less stressed about going out, and generally aware of the signs we need to watch for to help keep her happy.
One quick thought on fatherhood from the last six weeks:
For whatever reason, it’s easier to picture my daughter in her future iterations (toddler, teen, adult, etc.) than my son. There are these special moments when I’m looking into her eyes while she’s on my lap, and I’ll think, “You and I are going to be father/daughter for the rest of our lives.” It’s odd to think that my parents probably had similar thoughts when I was only a few weeks old. It makes me want to be closer to them.
We had a simple Christmas at home, but it was filled with incredible joy. The bonds of family are indescribably precious to me. So little else matters as long as everyone feels safe and together.
The Newsletter
If you couldn’t tell, I love writing this newsletter. That some of you choose to subscribe honestly means a lot, even more so to get a text or a comment on a post with your perspective. You’ve signed up to be on the receiving end of a journal/social media feed/writing experiment. Thankfully, a newsletter can contain multitudes.
My grand ambition is to keep it going as long as possible to a) have an outlet to further develop the random thoughts and monthly obsessions in my head and b) to continue practicing the art of writing.
Here were the top three posts this year.
Goals
Resolutions are dope. I don’t understand the cynicism around goal setting. We’re all rough stones in need of some polish. Better to try and smooth things up ourselves, though I suppose life does find a way of chipping off imperfections in due course.
Ever since I was a kid, setting goals in a “P.P.I.” (for those who know) with my dad, my goals have focused on four areas: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Social. These days, I set two goals in each category.
2023 Recap and new 2024 Goals
Spiritual
2023
Attend the Temple monthly
With the Washington D.C. Temple finally open again, I had no excuse not to attend more frequently. Monthly didn’t quite happen — I think I ended up going 8-9 times. There were months I literally dragged myself there of the 31st, and frankly, didn’t benefit much from the experience. Next year, I’ll aim a little lower, perhaps every six weeks, with the intention of improving the quality of each experience.
Hold weekly family night
Family Night is a Latter-day Saint tradition where you set aside Monday nights to have slightly more formal time together as a family. Nelson was old enough to start appreciating it and proved to be a quick fan.
2024
Attend temple with Mickelle quarterly
The few times I got to go with Mickelle were most enjoyable. It takes a lot more planning with two kids, hence the formal goal.
Morning scripture study with note-taking
With our move, I’m getting released from my assignment as the early morning seminary teacher for my church congregation (essentially a Bible Study class for high school students). Now that I won’t need to prep lessons, I plan to use 10-15 minutes before I start work in the morning to do my scripture reading and hope to add a bit more note-taking to the process.
Physical
2023
Two-night bikepacking trip
This kind of happened… We didn’t quite camp, but my good friend and coworker Joe Milroy welcomed the bikepacking crew to his hunting cabin in Pennslyvania and we biked 100 miles over two days through the Grand Canyon of PA. The same group plus my brother Cole did a 100 mile century ride on the Maryland Eastern Shore in October.
Run a half marathon
Cole and I got our butts kicked in Boone, NC. Neither of us had run enough hills in preparation, and the weekend of the race happened to be the first very humid day either of us had faced that year. I was hoping to come in under 2 hours but ended up walking a couple of stretches and finished around 2:10.
2024
Two multi-day hiking/biking trips
Similar to last year, though after receiving a Osprey backpacking pack, I’m itching to do some longer hikes. The bikepacking boys have also floated some longer trips, perhaps the long rail trail from Pittsburgh to D.C.
Half marathon with no walking & 750 miles running.
My main strategy will be to pick a flatter course! Long term, I want to make a half marathon a yearly occurrence. Seems like it requires the max amount of training I’m reasonably able to dedicate.
I ran 640 miles this year. That averages out to 12 miles a week. 750 miles in the year will require about 14.5 a week.
Intellectual
2023
Publish and print book
It’s with relief that I cross this goal off the list. You can read more about it below. I ended up selling 50+ copies, or about 5x the amount I expected to sell. Tremendously rewarding, and it made me grateful for the community around me who made it feel like a meaningful accomplishment.
Complete a draft of a fiction novel
Another year, another failure to make any progress in fiction. One day it will happen.
2024
Grow City Reads to 200 subscribers
City Readsstarted hot and excites me, but I’m not doing a good job on the marketing side of it. I want to do interviews with bookstore owners, maintain a good social media presence, and interact with other writers on Substack.
Engage with philosophical texts
I keep meaning to read more philosophy but never get around to it. I’ll start the goal with three books and see if it can grow from there.
Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle
Fear and Trembling - Søren Kierkegaard (thanks
for the encouragement.)
Social
2023
Better dates with Mickelle
Mickelle and I spend a ton of time together but rarely alone. We had to be much more deliberate and overcome our fear of potential babysitting disasters. The best dates were seeing Hippo Campus in D.C. in May and going to the Temple together in December.
Make a friend outside of work and church
An ambitious goal backed by poor planning. Not sure I can claim success on this one, though I did meet some new people biking and through the Sluggish Scholars Club.
2024
Join a social/physical club in Spokane
The idea of in-person clubs intrigues me. Most likely this will be a running or biking group. May have to look at volunteering somewhere. I am curious to see what my social appetite is as a remote worker. Will I crave more in-person interaction to supplement what I’m missing away from the office?
Engage the Sluggish Scholars
The Sluggish Scholars book club ended up being a ton of fun last year, though I wasn’t a great steward. I plan to be more prepared and organized this year. If you’re interested in joining, shoot me a message. Here’s what we’re reading:
January: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Feb-Mar: The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley
April: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
May-June: Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves
July-Aug: Apeirogon by Colum McCann
Sept-Oct: American Nations by Colin Woodard
Nov-Dec: Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam
There used to be an LDS bookstore in Billings, called Words of Wisdom, I think it was.
Don’t know why it’s gone - or maybe it moved and I just don’t know to where. I would get gift certificates for birthdays, et cetera, for my family members there. It was right on Shiloh Road, which so think is now the road to the temple they built in Billings.
Anyway - enough preface, cut to the chase……
You ought to get LDS bookstores interested in your White Cloud book. I bet there are plenty of people that would be interested. It would give high school age kids a peek at what being on a mission can be like.
That’s all. Just thought I’d “put that out there.” I think your sales should be MUCH MORE than 50 units!
And if you don’t like Fear and Trembling I’ll bombard you with my other favorite works of philosophy!