2024 Year In Review
My last post for 2024. I’ve sat back and reflected on how it went for me and my family. I’ve had the last week off to think about it and I’ve come to a few conclusions that I want to lay out below because it really was my focus for the last week.
Not As Bad As I Thought
I really thought for sure we’d face some huge obstacles in 2024. I just felt some type of setback, perhaps professional or financial or familial would occur. Part of this is my natural inclination towards pessimism, a trait I suffer from despite my best attempt to think positively. It might have evolved as part of the trend of difficult years we’ve already faced, but 2022 – 2023 wasn’t that bad either. Of course, how could you compare to the chaos of the COVID shutdown in 2020-2021, where things just not happening is considered a good year. In fact, that’s probably how I could describe 2024. Nothing bad happened, but nothing that great happened either. It was kind of full steam ahead, which I think you can write off as a success. We finished the year healthy, the boys are thriving, my relationships are in good shape, and I am making progress towards my goals both personally and professionally.
The Boys Thrived
If there is one take away from 2024 it is that the boys absolutely thrived. Ted’s grades improved at least an entire letter grade in all areas. He made progress in Scouting, playing the violin, earned his Tae-Kwon-Do black black belt, found a niche in school archery, and made some friends. Ben is starting to show natural athletic promise, and seems to be thriving, doing well in school and making friends easily. We are in the process of exploring things he enjoys like we’ve done for Ted. They had some fun experiences this year and I think they’ll have some positive memories. For 2025 we’ll be transitioning Ted from elementary to middle school, which will certainly have its own challenges, and Ben will start maturing more I am sure just given his age. This might be the last year I can pick Ben up and hold him! I am realizing that the day when I won’t have little ones running around is nearer than I would admit, so I am going to try to enjoy every day of it this year also.
Goals and Expectations For 2025
It is still impossible to know what 2025 is going to hold. I feel that professionally I will make a move to take on more challenges. I think there’s a good chance that in the fall I will enroll into a master’s program. I am trying to decide on the direction for that though, and that takes some guessing at what way the economic winds are going to blow. I am leaning towards something that builds upon my Business Informatics degree, probably finding a program that specializes in statistical analysis so I can beef myself up into data science, predictive analytics, machine learning, or business intelligence. I expect to be pursuing leadership roles. I’ve found a taste for it after my success in Scouting from their leadership development programs and the success I’ve had there in the community with it.
Speaking of Scouting, I will be taking a smaller role there so I can focus on my professional goals. Ted will transition to the Troop level, and I’m not sure if Ben is interested in continuing at the Pack, especially if he continues playing sports at this level. I did tell the Scout Master at our local troop that I am friends with that I would be happy to assist, but I’d planned on most likely helping with Merit Badges in my fields of expertise rather than the level of coordination I was at with the Pack going forward.
My other main focus is of course my health. I had a good 2024 health wise but I’m wanting to focus on prevention, especially as I get older. I’m not wanting to give up my active lifestyle, in fact, I’m looking to improve up on it. I want to go back doing some of things I really enjoyed that I’ve completely put on the back burner the last decade. I would like to get a little more fly fishing in, some bicycling, and do some hiking. To do all of this though I need to circle around nutrition. The old days of eating like crap and just working out doesn’t fly anymore. I’ve removed most sugar and alcohol from my diet, and I’ll probably continue that for 2025. As long as my blender works I’ll continue the food and vegetable intake. I hope to keep the improvements I’ve made in my sleep cycle. I will probably shift in more cardio to offset my strength training.
Finally, I want to end this post by thanking God for all of the blessings bestowed upon me. I don’t know what 2025 holds but I will draw on the strength provided to me by God and face these challenges as best as I can.