23 Wonderful Things in 2023

There were numerous rather sad things about 2023, but here are 23 reflections about some special things that happened last year:

1. Baby and Toddler giggles from the smallest household resident just make everyone instantly happy. There is nothing like a tiny person giggling.
2. Along the same line, Toddler neck nuzzles cannot help but make the day great.
3. The Devious Snail left for college. That was an adjustment, but the hugs when he comes back home for a visit are wonderful.
4. YaYa spent the summer here in Duluth, which meant that she was sometimes hanging out at our house, but most of the time she was living in a tiny house on a farm where she spent the summer working with kids, learning to garden, and taking care of chickens and sheep and other wonderful animals. She usually came to spend the weekend here at home where she could do some laundry and take a hot shower. Every weekend there were so many wonderful farm adventure stories! YaYa definitely can tell a good story, and entertaining things always seem to be happening to her.
5. After years of debate, we finally planted an apple tree in our yard where we sadly needed to cut down some big ash trees that had emerald ash borer. I am excited for the little baby tree to grow, and I’m looking forward to honeycrisp apples in a few years.
6. The Banana and Mr. TOF were scheduled to travel to Montreal with the choir they sing in last June. Unfortunately, I made some crucial mistakes when applying for their passports, and then on top of that, all passports were delayed because the state department was overrun with passport applications. This meant that a few weeks before they were scheduled to fly with their group, they had no passports, and I was on the phone for hours and hours and hours every day trying to get through to the state department to make sure they had the right passports. It was a complete fiasco. In the end, I was only half successful. Their passport CARDS arrived just in the nick of time to travel, but the passport books that they needed to fly with their group did not arrive because the state department messed some things up. It looked like I was going to have very sad singers who would not be able to participate, but in the end, one of the directors had a similar problem and ended up driving to Montreal, so The Banana and Mr. TOF got to ride along (along with another singer who also had passport issues) and they did get to go after all! They had a wonderful time, even though the car ride was long. And they even ended up arriving home before the rest of group, whose flight got canceled in Montreal.
7. This summer we remodeled our swing set and made it super duper tall. It is crazy huge, and the swings have such a great swoop. I’ve loved it.
8. I had so much fun all summer listening to The Banana’s rowing stories.
9. This year I got fancy noise cancelling headphones, and I have enjoyed listening to classical music so much, particularly choral music, when I can hear all the details without distractions. The kidlets get quite a kick out of how I go in the zone when I’m wearing them.
10. You may have read about how I instituted French Horn Friday a few months ago. I have been having a wonderful time playing the French horn that was my secondary wind instrument. I’m not great at it, but I just have so much fun playing it.
11. Dr. Peds surprised me this summer by making an appointment to have the van detailed right before the longest car trip of the year, and it was so lovely to do all that driving with an amazingly clean vehicle. I felt so fancy!
12. I have enjoyed practicing the piano so much this year, especially Chopin preludes and Escenas Romanticas by Granados.
13. Peanut Maximus finally developed a predictable sleeping schedule halfway through the year, and I am so grateful to have a routine that I can depend on again.
14. Our play couch has been a wonderful edition to the family room. It is used all the time!
15. Although this winter has been mostly devoid of snow, last winter set a snowfall record. So much snow! But I have always said that I don’t mind snow, and lots of it as long as the snow is fresh. I don’t like dirty snow that sits around, and last year I did actually get my wish. There was so much snow and it snowed so often that we always seemed to have fresh snow.
16. It has been so fun to have a little person to dress in cute little person clothes again. Shark shoes! Hoodies with monsters! Dinosaur pajamas! Pants with animals on the bottom! We have soaked it all up.
17. It’s not my story to tell, but some things happened this fall that made The Banana happier than I have seen her for a long, long time, and that was fun to watch.
18. I was gifted many new and wonderful houseplants this last year, and I’m enjoying them so much. My mother came to visit a few months ago and mentioned that my house seems a little like a jungle. I’m not at all sad about that, especially in the winter when my eyes crave green things!
19. When the Devious Snail went to college we spent many days cleaning the boys’ room and painting it. It looks so much nicer, and Mr. TOF is enjoying using the space more.
20. I was so happy to be able to return to singing with the Arrowhead Chorale this fall, and before Christmas we performed Rutter’s Gloria, a piece I was not familiar with before. Although I have multiple favorite choral works that I have been able to perform, this piece I think wins the prize for being the most FUN piece I’ve ever gotten to sing. It was just a blast to get to sing with organ and an amazing brass ensemble, and it is quite a work of art.
21. There were so many instances throughout the year when I needed to take Peanut Maximus with me to an event of some sort or another and I anticipated it being a complete disaster, only to be absolutely surprised that it was not. The kid just enjoys a commotion so much.
22. I love my piano students. They are so much fun to teach.
23. Miraculously there have been amazing people who have been willing to take care of Peanut Maximus while I am teaching lessons this year. So many times I fretted myself into a frenzy about whether I would find someone who could cover my teaching hours, and it all just worked out in the end. I’m super grateful, because I love teaching so much.