December Thoughts: A reflection on a FULL year

FULL. The word for this year is FULL!

Started 2022, hopeful to get back to feeling like myself post baby, work picking back up post covid, determined to travel and make some memories with the family. In reality it all piled up quickly and made for an over flowingly full year of work, activities and personal / professional growth came to a halt.

With the departure of our team members for ECC, Allie and Kallie, rotating through some replacements, and not truly having time to catch my breathe with 15 weddings and 60+ shoots, work was standing still. Finally coming out of the fog in October was amazing to help refocus and try to end the year on a high and get some things done - namely this website and finally launching the beta of our prop shop (two long terms goals).

All of that while adjusting to having 3 kids and adding another puppy (which was arguably not the smartest decision). It was a lot to juggle day to day. Motherhood is hard. For me, it's not the overarching concept, it's the day to day caretaking. Taking the time to be with them, grow them, manage their calendars and clip their nails (seriously... who forgot to tell me that this needed to happen constantly).

Then add in four personal family and close friends weddings to celebrate, family time, vacations. Those filled my cup with so much fun and joy and brought some amazing memories for the whole family - Hadley is pretty sure her life is just being in and at weddings now. Aruba, Bahamas, Disney, Montana - it was a true world tour!

What gives? Self care, personal time and attention and true quality time and attention to my marriage - TRUTH! And that's ok - ish.

It was a FULL year. A year that required more grace and time to breathe myself through things. Am I complaining? No. I'm sharing, reflecting and offering the idea that 2022 was not at all what I expected and yet somehow more than I could have imagined. Reminding myself, and anyone reading this (hi mom), that things aren't always black and white. Plans change. While I still feel like "wtf is happening in life" often, and I am still figuring out how to adjust to make 2023 more manageable, successful and "Elizabeth forward."

Reducing the number of weddings, only one personal wedding to attend, so far no family trips on the books, and overall just trying to slow things down. Finally finish decorating our house, taking some time to do more local activities with the kids, more working out, self care, museum visits. And setting some goals and priorities for expanding business in 2023!

Would love to hear from any working mothers that went through similar roller coasters this year.

Cheers,

Elizabeth