Happy New Year – and Happy New Decade – to all! As I sit outside, along the Pacific Coast of Mexico, reflecting on the year that has passed, I realize that I love new beginnings. It’s a chance to reflect on growth and goals that one wants to integrate into one’s life, and a clear line in the sand that now is the time to put those changes into action.
So the fact that today marks not only a new year but a new decade has me absolutely abuzz with possibility. Does anyone else out there feel excited to welcome in the new?!?
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Bruno, Phoenix and I are celebrating this new year (and decade) with two very special people – my parents! Just like last year, they have come south for the winter and will be RVing in Mexico with us! They joined us just before Christmas in San Patricio de Melaque, an absolute paradise on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. We are so grateful to have family with us in Mexico for the holidays and beyond!
As I described in last year’s Year In Review, 2018 was the year of the Phoenix; as in, it was the year our baby boy Phoenix was born, and the year that our lives revolved around said baby. If I can describe this year in one word, I’d say that 2019 was the year of the see-saw. This year our life has see-sawed between periods of extreme sedentarianism (is that a word?) and extreme nomadism (a.k.a. manic travel). Let me elaborate.
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Our year began with a fast-paced road trip through central Mexico with my extended family. Then, craving a break from bus life, we rented the villa of my dreams in the city of eternal spring, Cuernavaca. What was supposed to be a four-week stay turned into seven. Then, we headed on a 6-week international trip which included a road-trip through Florida (meeting up with five sets of loved ones) and a trip to France. When we returned to Mexico – once again tired – we returned to a city and campground we’d stumbled upon earlier in the year, and ended up spending 5 weeks in Cholula. Refreshed and grounded, we headed, yet again, abroad – this time for the mother-of-all-trips. We visited New Brunswick, Toronto, Athens, two Greek Islands, two spots in France, and New York City, staying in a total of nine different accommodations in just as many weeks! Absolutely exhausted after that trip, we returned to Cholula for another month of sedentary living before embarking on a road trip to the coast of Mexico.
You see? Total see-saw. And you know what? I think I actually like it this way! I mean, yes, we did more international travel than either Bruno or I care to do, but I liked that each trip was interspersed with periods of rest, routine, and recuperation. This see-sawing spoke to both parts of me – the ultimate nomad and the ultimate homebody.
In my 2018 Year in Review, I shared that the biggest lesson I’d learned was that I didn’t have life all figured out. That a tiny baby had become both my mirror and my greatest teacher, reflecting back to me my deepest flaws and most-needed areas of improvement. I shared that, with 2019 on the horizon, I was ready to face myself and shed layers of skin that no longer served me.
2019 has definitely been about that for me. I have read books, taken online classes, listened to podcasts, and filled an entire journal with all the things I’ve learned and reflected upon this year. While I may very much still be a work-in-progress, I take pleasure in re-reading my commitment last year because I can confidently say that I have honoured it. For me personally, 2019 has been the year of personal growth. I haven’t been this spiritually inspired since my college philosophy days, and I feel like I am doing the exact work I am meant to be doing right now.
I am so grateful to be where I am here, at the end of 2019. Our family is slowly but surely finding the right balance of travel and slowness in our nomad lifestyle, and I am digging deeper and deeper into who I truly am. I am grateful that Phoenix illuminated this path for me last year, and just as grateful that Bruno’s co-parenting has allowed me the space to delve deeper into this spiritual quest. 2018 was such a challenging year, so it’s fascinating to me that I can feel so grounded and at peace now. What a difference a year makes.
I suppose I can leave you, dear reader, with this little piece of wisdom, then. If you are concluding your 2019 on a negative foot; if your year involved challenge after challenge; if your decade is ending with a sour taste in your mouth, take comfort in this: what a difference a year can make.
As per tradition, I leave you with our year’s highlights, challenges, and lessons learned:
Highlights of 2019
- Renting the amazing paradise villa in Cuernavaca, Mexico
- Falling in love with the city of Cholula, Mexico, and getting to indulge in some sedentary living (which included a lot of yoga!)
- Ticking Greece off my bucket list with an epic trip there for my best friend’s wedding
- Our road trip through Florida
- Exploring coastal Mexico after a year in the mountains
And, actually, the biggest highlight of all: Watching Phoenix grow into the most amazing little toddler, and experiencing my own growth as a mom. Bruno’s looking pretty comfortable and happy in his role as papa, too!
Biggest 2019 Challenge: Sleeping in 9 different accommodations around the world in 9 weeks! (How does the Bucket List Family do it?!?)
Biggest Lesson Learned: Don’t book crazy trips like that! In other words, even if a multi-destination trip seems fun on paper, as new parents with a toddler, it’s best to keep it simple. We shall be putting this lesson into practice in 2020, for sure!
Alright, friends, that’s it from me! Hope you all have had relaxing and loving holidays, and wishing you all a blessed new decade! Here’s to 2020!
