2013: Year in Review

If I had to describe 2013 in one word, I would use "bittersweet."

I'll primarily remember 2013 as the year we left New York and moved back to Ohio. I still miss Brooklyn and succumb to bouts of sadness if I think about it too long. But at the same time, I'm glad to be back in my home state, close to family and in a new home in a neighborhood I love.

Of course, Edith played a big part in my year -- she was only about 6 weeks old when 2013 began. In January, we drove from New York to Ohio to have her baptized in my hometown, and the milestones kept piling on from there. She ate her first food in May (avocado!), but a few weeks prior she had a very New York milestone: her first subway ride.

February is generally my least favorite month, but this year one weekend was one of the most exciting of 2013.  Paul and I decided to change our annual dinner party into a Sunday brunch, and on the very same day my nephew Wyatt was born! A fun day was made even better.

Happily, having a kid didn't stop us from hitting the road once in a while. Besides all of those back-and-forths to Ohio, we managed a day trip to Philadelphia (visiting a good friend who lives there) at the beginning of May, and a visit to some Hudson River towns at the end of the month. Then, in November, we took our first overnight vacation as a three-person family: a week in Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, SC.

Shortly after we returned to Ohio, I launched a freelance writing career -- a job I've found difficult and rewarding. And the move necessitated another task: buying a car. My Prius is my first vehicle in six years!

We weren't back in Ohio for long before Paul returned to New York to run the New York City Marathon at long last. He was supposed to run it last year, shortly before Edith was born, but Hurricane Sandy got in the way. Unfortunately Edith and I weren't there to cheer him on, but it was an exciting month nonetheless: Edith turned 1 in November!

So happy belated birthday, Edith, and happy anniversary to Paul and me: we celebrated 10 years of marriage in August.

An exciting year indeed! No post on Wednesday. Happy New Year!