Goodbye Teens, Hello 20’s

No, I have not entered a time portal taking be back to my teens. But we are all saying goodbye to our teens, our twenty-teens if you will. It has been an interesting decade for many of us. I am not sure yet if history will look on it favourably, but I think I will look at the 20-teens with a mixture of fondness and disdain.

For me the most memorable things to happen this decade are only possible because Nancee and I adopted the kids. That was in 2013 and we have had quite an adventure since.

We have traveled to Florida and Myrtle Beach, Washington and PEI with our kids and every road trip has been quite an adventure.

We have gained family we didn’t know we had when we became friends with our children’s biological uncle and aunt. Now they have more cousins and connections to their roots while we have more family to love as well.

We have watched our children grow and become more of who they want to be. Our son is getting ready for high school, a teenager now with his own big goals and dreams, and our daughter, now 10, learning to navigate through a world that is changing faster than she is.

We have brought more four-legged love into our home with our dogs Walter and Winston, and have said goodbye to our Findlay and Spice. While we miss them every day, we know that love has no end and that our hearts break because their lives mattered.

We have started new businesses and changed professional roles. Nancee began Bakeologee Baking Co., a wonderful gluten-free baking company which provides delicious gluten-free baking at a reasonable price. And I had the pleasure of moving from the classroom as a teacher, to the office as a Principal.

On a personal note, I began my blog of 45 Things which spun off into a series called 45 Days of Courage. I am excited to share that the blog is now a book available on Amazon.

What will 2020 bring? As we wind down 2019 and the whole teen decade, it is my hope that you will leave behind fear and take up courage. I hope you will set aside self-doubt and hold on to self-love. If you have love in your life, hold on to it, grow it, cherish it. And if you have toxicity, drop it, run from it, throw it away. Sometimes those two things reside in the same relationship. Try to keep the love.

I am looking forward to making 2020 a great year. There will most certainly be challenges. There are already health challenges following me out of 2019, but I believe challenges can make us better, stronger, more compassionate people.

I want to find more curiosity and less judgement, more wonder and less worry. To that end, I will begin a new blogging series, 45 Moments of Wonder on January 1, 2020. I hope you will join me in that journey of awakening our sense of awe and wonder in the ordinary moments.

Winding down 2019, I wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy new year!