Here we go, 2024 🎀
An impromptu shot at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, FL
I can say, without reservation, that 2023 was one of the most difficult yet transformative years on record. We learned (the hard way) that if we stick to our guns, we can kick ass (in a very elegant way) and make things happen as they should have happened from the get-go. A life-lesson in the midst of construction. No matter, we got the message, it was received loud and clear.
2023 was also a year of anticipation and unknowing. We ended 2022 and began 2023 in an Airbnb rental, both of which we were most thankful to find. The first one rehashed a friendship from decades earlier and taught me that some people do not go away. There are people who are as constant and authentic as the sunrise, and no matter the time or the geography, the friendship remains steadfast. To Ed and Ann, thank you. To the wonderful family on Low Gap, thank you for allowing us to make your home, our home. To John at Hayesville Post Office, we couldn’t have done it without you. It made the day run smoother to have a kind face staring back at me from the other side of the counter. I know this thank you seems odd, but trust me, he earned his pay this past year.
To our photography clients - wedding, commercial, family - a most humble thank you. We loved curating moments that helped build your business or served as a family heirloom. Each is important for whatever reason you hold dear. Like they say, you don’t know how much a photo means until you don’t have one. Memory fades as the years roll by, but that physical piece of time will remain. We are grateful for you.
And to those crazy travel people - Turner PR, Pineapple PR, Laurie Rowe and Co and other agencies; Jackie, Pamela, Karon, Amy Beth, Ruth, Stephen and so many more - thank you for keeping us on our toes and showing us the best of the world and of writers. I have learned from you and you make me want to keep growing, keep reaching, keep dreaming. As I am working on my last deadline for 2023, I look to all of your for inspiration. Thank you for being so good.
To Sherry and Joel. You took our dream and made it a reality. Who can say that of many people? We will forever be your cheerleaders and your friends. Oh, just go ahead and say it, family. You will always be family to Judy and Lenny. Much more than gratitude; it’s love. ❤️
We’ll spend much of 2024 with The History Press and Rock City. Thank you for trusting Len and I to tell a story that must be written down. Book three is in the works.
Tomorrow brings the Orange Bowl with UGA and Fla State. Still mad that it’s not a national championship game, but I’ll get over it. And, I’ll break out the new calendar for my Levenger binder. Nothing excites me more than a new calendar. I have already plastered (lovingly and not permanently) my wall calendar up and marked off dates and deadlines. I do have a Google calendar, a wall one and a paper one. I just can’t ditch paper. It’s the writer in me. I need to feel and smell and mark through.
Whatever 2024 brings, it will bring it to the mountains. It will be a busy year. A defining year. A wrapping-things-up-in-a-bow year. 🎀
I’m ready. Here we go. Bring on 2024.
