2014 passed by in a whirlwind! I would absolutely be lying if I said there were no hardships- the first three months of last year were difficult. A polar vortex of weather the likes of which I’ve never seen, a home whose pipes froze, unfroze, flooded, and froze again after the HVAC went out halfway into our buyer’s contract, moving into a new house during a Kentucky monsoon…
But the remaining 9 months of the year? We’ve finally moved into a home that we both love. There are no drafty hallways, no loud college parties next door, no streets shut down during every city marathon. A small, two-bedroom townhouse has proven itself to be a savior. We have neighbors who love us, and who feel like family after less than a year, a commute so short that bicycling is an adequate form of transport. We have multiple farmers markets within a couple-mile radius, the park system a short walk away.
I had the biggest year of my 7-year long real estate career, almost by not even trying. Past clients, friends, bankers and even other agents (!) referred me over half my business last year, and my boss has bestowed compliments onto me I never thought possible.
I branched out of my own home in the world of designing for others. After seeing the drastic makeovers my powder room, kitchen, living and dining rooms received, I had friends contact me to help finish kitchens, design bedrooms, help shop for china patterns, even had one client reach out for help in decorating her new home! While I don’t know that there’s a second career in interiors lurking, I’ve received such a rush of satisfaction in knowing that I’m much more many-sided than I believed.
Thanksgiving night ended with the man and I on the couch, with candles lit, the tv off and music playing, my insides swooping with gratitude for the months that had just passed. For a gal that’s had lifelong battles with self-esteem and depression, the absence of anxiety and doubt was physically felt- like a fullness that made me want to cry, or to dance. It was an odd, unfamiliar feeling, but was one that I’d like to feel forever.
I made no New Year’s resolution in 2014- the looming sale of our home that I had poured my life into was upon me, and I didn’t possess the wherewithal to make any candle-blowing-out type wishes for the days to come. Yet, somehow, I managed to make 2014 the best year of my life so far.
Not resolving, though, doesn’t seem fair.
I don’t want to wish for weight loss, as it’s something that every woman (EVERY woman) always wants, and the generic often-Champagne-induced slurred promise of “I’m going to make this the best year ever!” doesn’t seem to bring to mind any real goal.
For 2015, I want to feel that Thanksgiving night feeling again. I don’t care if it just happens once, or if it’s every Friday night throughout the year, but I want to make a conscious effort to discover what it was just just made me so happy, so utterly at peace. I want to find that thing, whatever it was, and hold onto it. Still too generic? I have a financial goal in mind. I want to see my bank account hit a number it’s never seen before, and I want to do it by working hard, working honestly, the way I always have. I want my business this year to double. I know I can do it.
Friends, I hope you had a fabulous new year! I hope you woke up with a smile on your face, confetti in your hair, and any ghosts of last year behind you. We all deserve to move forward- that’s what flipping the calendar is all about.