The Best and Worst of 2023 (Lauren's Version)

My personal top ten list of highs and lows and everything in between

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Happy New Year, Friends! I hope you’re transitioning into a fresh calendar with ease. I’ve taken to practicing Gentle January, a concept I first heard of through Abigail Koffler, who credits yet another food blogger for coining the term. If you don’t already follow Abigail’s blog, This Needs Hot Sauce, I highly recommend doing so:

Gentle January Has Arrived

We’re a week into the new year, but this is my first post since before the Winter Solstice, and I feel compelled to wrap up 2023 before moving on. I don’t know about you, but the last 10 days of December always feel like a quicksand pit of time, and it often seeps into the beginning of January. These darkest weeks of the year feel like the perfect time to slow down, cozy up, and sink into the stillness of winter.

As a result, I’ve found myself unfollowing and unsubscribing from any self-proclaimed self-help guru trying to sell me their strategy for “up-leveling,” “crushing goals” or whatever TF their angle may be.

This is not a time for me to hustle.

Instead, I’m brewing chai, piling fuzzy blankets throughout my home, averaging 8+ hours of sleep, and taking every opportunity to snuggle with my dogs and read. We still bundle up and go out for wintry walks most days, and the face-biting cold makes our hygge haven feel that much more warm and inviting.

But enough about 2024, let’s talk about last year.

My Top Ten Highs and Lows of 2023

This list contains the most significant high- and low-lights of 2023 in no particular order. I didn’t separate them into distinct best and worst lists because I see good and bad aspects of everything. There were too many things I couldn’t sort into one list or the other, so you can take your best guess.

💖 I officially accepted a “day job” outside of the writing industry. I’ll be sharing details about this in an upcoming post, so keep an eye out for that. If you haven’t already, now is a good time to subscribe

💖 I did a lot of powerful New Year Tarot Readings (thank you for supporting me!) that revealed what a massively transformative year 2024 will be. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds!

💖 We lost our beloved guardian dog, Sampson

💖 I sustained some pretty bad hand/wrist injuries, leaving me unable to use my left arm for several weeks which limited my ability to type and plant my spring garden.

💖 My newsletter subscribers grew by 50%, thank you for sharing!

💖 I read at least a dozen books and started as many more. You can check out my Books of 2023 list on Bookshop.

💖 We started renting out a campsite on our farm via hipcamp, and it’s been such a treat to meet campers and van lifers from way outside the Downeast, Maine area

💖 I turned 40!

💖 I pinned on a race bib for the first time in 5 years and finished a local 5k, leaving me with a strong desire to register for a much longer race much further away.

💖 I made new friends and deepened existing connections, both online and IRL

That’s my list! Feel free to share yours (the whole list or a link to a post) in the comments.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting my work. It truly means the world <3

I’ll be back in your inbox this week with our regularly scheduled love letters.

xoxo

Lauren