While every year brings sorrows, disappointments, and loss, every year also brings things to treasure. Even when I look back on times that were very difficult, I remember so many good things, including some that have passed out of my life now.
I’ll think, Yes, we were living under the poverty line in Tucson, sharing a studio apartment with no air conditioning, but remember hiking in Sabino Canyon in the spring when the streams were running? We were terrified during the 2020 COVID lockdowns…but remember taking the dogs to in the Leo Carrillo beach in Malibu on weekends? I was bullied and friendless for a couple of years in grade school…but my grandma lived on the next block. She always admired my drawings, and she always had cookies.
At the beginning of this year, I was writing a few lines in a 5-year journal every day, focusing mostly on the positive. You know that quote about writing your sad times in sand and your good times in stone? I’ve gotten less consistent about writing in it just in the past month or so, but I’m going to get back into doing it daily. What an amazing record it’ll be in another 4 years!
2022 was a year I will never forget, and I have so much to be grateful for. Let’s get into some of those things!
1. I got out of a job that was making me miserable.
I learned so much as the executive editor and creative director of Hallmark Publishing and from the experience of starting up a successful business. I had the opportunity to work with so many talented people. But the books were always an afterthought to the parent company, as I think anyone there would attest, and it wasn’t supported enough to be sustainable.
2. With my husband, who is also an editor, I started a book editing and author coaching business, Lucky Author—and it was a success right out of the gate!
We’ve been so fortunate to have such amazing clients, and we’re just loving it! And Mr. Donovan is a fantastic coworker. I suspected he would be. We’ve been getting great feedback and we’re already getting repeat clients. Our prices are going up just a bit on January 1, and we’re now scheduling work for February and March. If you want to book us ahead of time for something that will be finished by then, do it soon! 🙂
3. My family celebrated my parents’ 60th anniversary with a lovely dinner!
Ahhh, this was really wonderful. We rented a private room in a restaurant. My nieces and nephew were all there, chattering and laughing uproariously. We looked at old photos and went around the table sharing our favorite memories of them. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.
4. We went to London!
This was a bucket list trip! We rode around on one of the double-decker buses. We went to the Tower of London, the National Gallery, the Churchill War Rooms, the Tate Modern, and the Chelsea Flower Show. Mr. Donovan had beans with his breakfast several times. I searched in vain for drip coffee. We stayed near Notting Hill, so of course, we visited that bookstore, and on the last evening, we had dinner on the sidewalk, watching the Portobello Road Market crowds.
5. We had a great summer visit with the Donovans in Phoenix!
Okay, I did almost break my nose when I slipped on some wet tile in our airBnB and sorta punched a wrought iron chair with my face. So much blood! But we loved seeing everyone, and we had a great time!
6. I taught two online romance novel writing workshops with Catapult in New York!
I have to say…this is just pure fun for me! I have another section of my 6-week Jumpstart Your Romance Novel workshop coming up in February. You can read more about it here!
7. We spent Easter with my sister, her husband, and her parents at my sister’s house!
My sister and her husband are both Christian ministers, so this is a busy time for them, but they somehow managed to make us feel like we were staying at a 5-star B&B.
8. Mr. Donovan and I went sledding near the beginning of the year…
9. We had a magical outdoor Valentine’s Day dinner, at a restaurant with private domes…
They did this because of Covid, of course, but I loved dining outdoors in the middle of winter, in our own little bubble.
10. We went to a lilac festival in the spring…
11. We went to two Cubs games, one in the summer…
That’s at the place we like to go beforehand, Deuce’s Major League…
12. We went on an evening boat ride, admired the city from the river, and watched the fireworks at Navy Pier…
13. We picked apples and sunflowers in the country at the beginning of fall…
What I loved about moving back to the Chicago area was being able to enjoy the changing of the seasons, and we really do enjoy them!
14. And we enjoyed a fun and peaceful Thanksgiving with family!
I’m sure we’ll do the same at Christmas, because we always do.
15. We got to hang out a lot with my brother, his wife, and my nieces and nephew who are in town!
Okay, this was the even better thing about moving back to the Midwest!
16. I finished the first draft of my time-travel-ish spicy romantic comedy novel, Knight at the Museum!
This project brings me so much joy!
17. I became a freelance writer for Encyclopedia Britannica!
Some great people work there and the research is fascinating.
18. We had a wonderful visit from our best friends in Kansas City! And…
19. We had breakfast in Chicago with another best friend in Kansas City! Plus…
20. I went to Kansas City and saw a lot of longtime friends!
This trip was for such a sad occasion, but my friend’s celebration of life—complete with glitter, zombie costumes, and a dancing—was so appropriate for the amazing woman she was. I lost three old friends this year, two to cancer, one to addiction, and it was really hard.
It means so much to be able to stay connected with friends who mean a lot to you. Of course, I also stay connected with a lot of them over social media, and I treasure that, too!
21. I joined the Chicago North Romance Writers organization!
I can’t say enough good things about this group. The people are wonderful, there’s so much talent, and they do such a great job of programming. Most of the meetings are online and you can join from other cities, if you’re so inclined (just note that they meet in the evenings at U.S. central time). Here’s the link!
22. I got to connect and chat with blog readers!
I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I appreciate your reading, I love your comments, and it’s always good to catch up with what’s going on with you! (If you’re reading this and you’re not subscribed to new posts, you can sign up in the upper righthand corner of this page!)
All right, it’s your turn.
Or at least, I hope it is, but no pressure! I would love to hear about the highlights of your 2022 in the comments!
Thank you so much for reading, and if you celebrate the holidays at this time of year, I hope they are filled with happiness!
I love this list! What an amazing year you’ve had!
Tonight I was planning to write my “thank you letter” to 2022 as part of my year-end wrap-up and prep for 2023, and now I’m going to include my own list of 22 in ‘22! 🙂
Awww, I love the idea of a thank-you letter to the year!
SEE YOU SOON!!
You did a lot! For me, a second granddaughter born. Being able to visit family again. Played taps for Taps Across America after not playing the trumpet since high school! Scheduled a river cruise in France for next year.
Tanya, congratulations on the second granddaughter! It is SO nice to be able to visit family again, isn’t it? And how cool about playing Taps! I hope you have a great river cruise. 🙂 Those always sound like fun!
I’m so happy for the professional moves you made this year! You deserve all the happy! As for me, this year really sucked BUT I hold onto the few good things like: signing with an agent for a co-authored book, going to Disneyland with my kids in October for three days of forgetting our troubles, and after losing my sweet pup this summer, we adopted a rescue pup…a Great Dane! I’m so in love with her but she’s also taken over my life as the breed is pretty high maintenance. But it’s FINE! We will survive and 2023 HAS to be better! Hugs to you and yours!
Ro, thanks so much for the good wishes, and BOOOO for a sucky year! And I’m so sorry you lost your sweet pup…that is so hard. A new Great Dane! Amazing! We adopted (I almost said “hired,” hahaha) a BONKERS beagle mix rescue, and he is settling down, finally…I hope your pup does! You certainly have some things to celebrate, too. Congrats on getting representation! I hope you have a wonderful 2023!
Making time to reflect on gratitude is so important. You have motivated me to journal about my year as well. Even though it seemed kind of humdrum, I will find the high spots and appreciate them. Thank you for motivating me.
You bet, Naomi! I have to say, even things that don’t seem like a big deal at the time (like, Talked to Mr. Donovan about such-and-such book or went to the thrift shop and bought a cool soap dish…) can really make me happy in retrospect, and the experiences come right back to me! Hey, worth a try, anyway. Happy Holidays!
I’m so excited for your first draft to be completed! Yayyyyy! And you’ve done so many amazing things! For me, while 2022 has had its sad, unexpected, and scary challenges, I’m now learning patience through God (I’ve never ever had patience before) and am running on complete faith in Him which is wonderful and bringing me such calm, eliminating the stress I’ve carried for the last six months. On the flip side, the elimination of my position at the same company you were also previously at Bryn, happened to fall into really good timing for our desire to move from Los Angeles to Fort Wayne, Indiana. As exciting as it was, we were nervous about traveling across country with our two dogs – one of which is scared of everything, doesn’t do stairs or like the outdoors, and weighs 60+ pounds so we knew we’d be lifting him in and out of our van – but God carried us here – it was like “okay, hold on! I’ve got you!” And it turned out beautifully. We are now renting an adorable two-bedroom apartment on the first floor that we absolutely love with a view of the most adorable pond with geese out our back door. And Kevin has actually walked outside a few times! We’ve been able to spend time with Gary’s parents who live about two hours north of us, his brother, wife, and dog which is such a treat! And we’ve completely fallen in love with this area. While I’ve put a hold on looking for work as I wait to find out when I will have surgery, it’s given me the valuable time to do what I think is the final edit pass on “Date With a Mannequin” and am currently focused on the synopsis. Super exciting is that we will have a white Christmas this year – yayyyyy! I’m looking very forward to 2023, querying “Mannequin”, and I’ve already received reaches about work after the new year. I am so incredibly grateful. 🙂
Debbie! Yes, it’s been SUCH an intense year for both of us. I wonder if you’d like to Zoom or something after the new year and catch up? I am so glad you moved to Indiana! I know what it’s like to travel cross-country with nervous dogs, haha. I bet they love their new home. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas—you deserve it! And I bet the new year will bring all kinds of opportunities!!
I feel the opportunities coming around the corner! 🙂 I would LOVE to Zoom after the first of the year – LOVE to! Have a beautiful Christmas my friend! XOXO
What a wonderful year you’ve had!
I’m grateful to have been published again. My fifth official publishing credit, and that small milestone means the world to me.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays!
Denise
Okay, how is that a “small” milestone?! It’s huge! I’m very excited for you. I hope you have a wonderful holiday great!
Thank you! <3
The best thing I loved about 2022 was that at age 76 and 7 years in the making I published my first book.
Winners Never Fold. Love lost. Love found and poker. A dream come true. I even got goosebumps typing this
I am one very happy, very mature woman.
Yes! Jan, you are amazing. We’ve really enjoyed your excerpts here, too! I’m linking to your book here! https://amzn.to/3BVStex Congratulations on a dream-come-true year!
Congrats on some serious positive life changes and on being mindful of less life-changing, but still life-fulfilling events like friends and family time! It was nice to read. One of my top 2022 highlights was discovering bryndonovan.com!
Happy 2023 to you and all your readers!
Hi Noel! Aww, that is so kind! Thanks so much for reading and commenting. It’s so good to have you here! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy 2023!
Hey Bryn, I am so grateful for your post! The heading of your post caught my attention. It is only for you that has made think of the ‘things I loved in 2022’?… As for 2023, your post is on my list! I will now begin with 2022, you may think my highlights for 2022 are quite “simple”? However, when I remember my feelings during these moments, I am filled with warmth and much gratitude to be given these opportunities?…
Remembering the impact covid had/has on people is hard to forget?
Since all the covid “regulations”came into play, I did not partake in these.
For me it was hard seeing others believe what they were told and doing what was expected from them…such as;
•go for a walk no longer than 1hr •no more than 2 people walk together
•could not drive further than 5kms from home
•mask wearing
•distancing
•receiving the lethal jab
•lockups
Etc etc etc etc etc…………
People did and continue to partake, only because they are missing “normality” before covid…
I continue to live my life how I choose!
Seeing many people change was disturbing for me, people were just not themselves anymore, one example is; I was not welcome into my friends home unless I was jabbed and wearing a mask?.
I decided to get away to place of serenity.. I am surrounded with natural bush overlooking a River with the cleanest water I ever imagined, I get my drinking water from the River. I love sitting in the River looking at all the different rocks, there are never any two the same, I love their colours, shapes and texture, the dragonflies will come and literally sit on me whilst in the River. The butterflies welcome me as I drive into the land. I have the birds singing in the background. I get to experience how many different animals live and interact with me. The night sky is filled with stars, it is just so beautiful. Oh, and the peacefulness is just bliss?.
So from covid I was given this magical opportunity I would not have even considered.
Thanks Bryn for your post❤️
What a lovely reflection of your year. And thank YOU for joining us at Chicago North Romance Writers!
My biggie for 2022 was our long-delayed trip to Europe, including Spain, France, Switzerland, and Germany. What a thrill to confirm research for my WW2-era novel in person.