2024 in Review

I've always been a little cynical when it comes to the New Year. It has been one of my favorite holidays because (mostly) everyone in the world can celebrate, but all the “new year, new you” push rubbed me the wrong way. These are days like any other, why do we force reflections and resolutions to Dec. 31 and Jan 1?

But as I've gotten older, I’ve realized the wisdom and beauty in the seasons and cycles of life, and the importance of planning, reflection, work, and rest. So, here we are, at the end of one year, getting ready for the next. Here’s a recap of my 2024:

Got married

The biggest and most exciting part of the year came on June 15 – when Lauren and I got married! It was a wonderful day, with friends and family joining us for the celebration. We spent a lot of time and energy planning the wedding (with Lauren doing the bulk of it) and everything went off without a hitch, except when I forgot to upload the seating chart to our wedding website and make a QR code. But we were able to greet all 90 guests and tell them their table, which lifted a lot of the pressure to say hi to everyone. What a wonderful day.

Moved from Kalamazoo

With the marriage, we moved in together. In her 20s, Lauren did everything right, such as buying a house and refinancing in the early 2020s. So I said goodbye with little fanfare to my hometown of Kalamazoo, and the apartment I lived in for 9 years. It’s been nice to have a change of scenery, and Holland is a very nice community. Kalamazoo will always be in my heart... but it’s kind of hard to say goodbye since it’s only an hour drive away. But far enough to change my habits and schedule.

Said goodbye to Emmy

Less than a month after we were married, our dog passed away at the age of 16. A very long and wonderful life. Lauren adopted Emmy when she was eight -- a rescue dog from Florida. I’m glad she could give her a good half of her life, and I could be part of it for a little over two years. Even in my mid-30s, she taught me a lot about responsibility. She was sick for about two weeks, and it really stressed the importance of marriage, so soon into our union.

Also goodbye to Neighbor Ed

We also lost a good family friend – "Neighbor" Ed Heinig. Ed and Ruth were our neighbors growing up and quickly became a third set of grandparents. He lived a long and full life, making an impact on so many. Instilled a love of history, politics, and academia. I am blessed to have known him for nearly three decades.

Continued teaching

This fall, I went back in the classroom and taught a class at Hope College. It’s an introductory course on media and society, and I loved every moment of it. The students always surprise me with their questions and insights. I am going back in a week to teach again and I am excited to refine the material even more.

Joined a new team

At work, I joined a newly created team focused on enterprise-wide communications. It’s been a nice change for me -- having worked in social media in some way for the majority of the past 15 years, I need not worry about trends and the feed and view counts.

Health

I had a couple of health scares this year that required multiple tests spread over weeks. Everything is thankfully OK, but waiting to get an MRI on your lungs is a humbling experience. There’s a lot to be said about our medical system in the United States, but I have had good experiences and am always amazed by the people who work at these big institutions to help other people out.

Experimentations continue with E Ink

I can never seem to drop the dream of living in an E Ink world. I got a Kindle Scribe, Boox Palma, and, most recently, a Supernote Nomad. Still chasing the dream of an alternative way of computing, where everything is standardized just the way I want. Getting closer and closer each day.

Blog & Writing

I transitioned my blog once again, from Blot.im to Ghost. Still working on transferring all my posts over, but I have been happy with the abilities that the Ghost platform offers. Didn’t write a lot there… but it was a busy year, eh?

What else?

I’m sure there is more -- I haven’t done my full annual audit of the year quite yet, so these are things that come from the top of my head and from the bottom of my heart.

A happy and peaceful New Year to everyone!