2023 wasn’t the year I wanted, but in some ways, it turned out to be the year I needed.
It was a year when I learned that if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade… and lemon pie and lemon sorbet and lemon anything else you can think of. When something knocks you down, just get back up. You can always turn things around. Always. Always. Always.
Interspersed between the uncertain parts of my year, crystal clarity taught me a lot about myself, and I discovered a lot of great new things, too.
Writing Don’t Let Me Down was some of the best fun I had all year. I consider it my best book to date. It still needs editing, and I have to write a new scene for it. But when I read the first draft to Josh, we both liked what I had written so far. It’s a candid, close-up dive into first love, making up for your mistakes, and being braver than you ever thought you could be. The book’s longer than I intended, but with telling Harper Posey’s story alongside Joss’, I wanted to take as many words as I needed to fully shine a light on each of them. The story doesn’t feel long. It moves at just the right pace, and the characters are so colorful, they pull you along with them.
I learned that horse racing is incredibly exciting. The races are very brief because the horses run so fast, but it’s really thrilling to watch such strong, magnificent animals give it their all. Josh and I had never paid much attention to the sport before, and we quickly soaked up all the knowledge of the passionate people who make the sport their living. Racehorse names have always intrigued me with their ingenuity, and of course, you never know who’s going to beat huge odds at the last second.
The same little brown rabbit visited me many evenings throughout the summer. I’d look out the window, and it’d be munching on weeds out in the front yard. Every one of these encounters felt so magical. At first, I was afraid to move where it could see me because I didn’t want to scare it off. But time and again, it noticed me and didn’t seem bothered at all. We hadn’t had rabbits in our yard for about 5 years, and I was really ecstatic to keep seeing this one. Keeler liked watching it, too, as you can see.
I learned you can take me out of the stadium, but you can’t take the stadium out of me. I rekindled my love of baseball, and Josh joined me for months of watching game after game. We had massive fun cheering for the Cubs, learning this year’s spectacular lineup of players, learning much more about the game itself, and hearing about the new changes to the way it’s played in the major leagues. Sometimes all you need on a Saturday is a delicious breakfast followed by a few hours of strikeouts, stolen bases, and home runs.
I rediscovered my love of cooking and started looking up new recipes. Our crock pot went from never used to sometimes used 2-3 times a week. It’s ridiculously simple to load up the crock pot with ingredients, and I made some truly delicious meals from soup to quinoa with vegetables to chili. If you haven’t found out yet how forgiving and easy crock-pot cooking is, I highly recommend giving it a shot.
I took the Pride and Prejudice challenge to see which Mr. Darcy actor is my favorite. I respect Colin Firth a lot, but I have to side with Matthew Macfadyen. His shy, awkward, soft-spoken performance is riveting, and his chemistry with Keira Knightley is perfect. I like the whole cast from the 2005 movie, actually. I like the understanding and support between spirited heroine Lizzy and her easygoing father. I like this version of Mr. Collins, the blowhard preacher trying to be meek — he’s gloriously insufferable as he seeks a wife. And I was already a big fan of the director for his work on Atonement, which is one of my favorite movies. The book it’s based on is also very good.
I’ve taken a down-the-rabbit-hole foray into Asian-language TV shows. I’m used to hearing Japanese, so Love Village and The Future Diary are just my cup of tea. I’ve also really enjoyed Hidden Love, which is in Mandarin Chinese. We follow two young people through the years of their getting to know each other and how their falling in love slowly unfurls in ways that challenge and uplift those around them. It’s sweet, funny, and romantic. For a touch more drama, I can’t stop watching Single’s Inferno and either iteration of Love Like a K-Drama. These beautiful, heartfelt shows out of South Korea have introduced me to interesting people, delicious-looking food, and charming locations. I have many more shows to check out, and I’m looking forward to them.
Baldur’s Gate 3 deserves all the accolades and awards it gets. I haven’t been this obsessed with a video game in a long time, and it’s so artfully, genuinely, skillfully pulled together. All the talent of everyone involved is tremendous and obvious. They’re wonderful, thoughtful, inclusive, and funny people as well. #Astarion
I sat down and made jewelry for the first time in 4 years. A blue-beaded necklace to suit a peacock-feather pendant, and an earth-toned necklace with gemstones, metal leaves, faux bone beads, and a bronzed wing for the pendant. Flexing my color, shape, and material muscles again felt really good.
I did write more this year than just Don’t Let Me Down, but nothing else is finished. I plotted at least 10 books this year on top of the other two books I partially wrote. It was a weird year, and making brand-new things felt easier than continuing existing projects. I’ve always known that I’m a strong person, but this was the year that showed me I could be even stronger than I thought.
I feel very changed, and I don’t know yet how I’ll move forward. I just know that I will.
Moving into 2024, I feel like new kinds of New Year’s Resolutions are in order. Things like Be gentle with yourself. Pamper yourself more and criticize yourself never. Be your own best friend and let go of that which doesn’t serve you. Pet your cat and take deeper breaths. Laugh more. Complain less. Dance to your favorite music and declutter yourself along with the contents of your closets.
Life is beautiful, and it’s meant to be.
See you in 2024. It’s going to be an adventure. Will you join me?
Cassandra