Y'all...I have lost count on how many times I tried to write (for your reference, I am starting this on 2/24) 😂. The funny thing about motherhood is that when you get that rare time of alone time and you have a million different things you want/need to get done, one of two things (at least for me) ends up happening: 1) you think about those million different things for too long but end up just vegetating on the couch scrolling down social media, and then your time is up, or 2) you dabble on all of those things but don't really complete any of it. Both things have had happened to me too many times, but I am really trying to be better about the 1st scenario because I don't gain anything out from scrolling down the same TikTok or Instagram Reels.
Anyway, Zoe is currently napping (something that has been coming back lately 🙌) so I'm using the few precious minutes I have (with now the dogs snuggling up near me) to write. By the way, I forget how good writing makes me feel. Writing has always been a therapeutic opportunity to reflect on my feelings and what I've experienced.
(Resuming writing on 3/1...) I cannot believe we are already 2 months into this year. I didn't know what to feel about welcoming a new year after spending the last 2 years in a state of blah (with a few very exciting and big changes that our family did go through), but I must say it has been going very well and I'm excited about some of the things that are brewing for this year.
(Resuming writing on 3/6 😂) We came back from our vacation in Colorado. This was my snowboarding trip in 7 years and, obviously, first for Zoe. Z is trying to reclaim his hobby of snowboarding (as well as video gaming) and has been dying to introduce Zoe to snowboarding. I'm convinced that he wants her to be the next Chole Kim...haha. If the pandemic didn't happen 2 years ago, we probably would have done this trip sooner. Eventually, I am hoping to write a travel guide for those who might be interested in taking their little ones on a ski/toddler trip in the future.
So, back to recapping the first couple of months of this new year.
January
By far the most memorable moment was going back to my alma mater to participate in the choir reunion. A very few people know that I was actively involved in choral singing since high school freshman year and continued to do so through college. I had the privilege of being involved in Texas Tech University Choir for 3 years and Madrigal Singers for 1 year until I had to call it quits entering my senior year in order to graduate in 4 years. While I was not a music major, the music department was generous enough to offer me a music scholarship, and I had the opportunity to receive voice lessons from a faculty member. We got to tour in England in the summer of 2007 and sang at St. Paul's Cathedral and many other iconic places while there, Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), recital choirs for many of the graduate conducting students, etc. Choral singing was a huge part of my identity through the early part of my adulthood.
I left the singing world once I entered my senior year because I kept putting off some of the major courses (I was a double major in business management and economics) in order to commit to the choir schedules. And then, believe it or not, I never went back to singing in a choir again. It's funny how one decision can alter the course so much - I went on to work on a master's degree in higher education administration and had a career in graduate admissions/student recruitment for the next 9 years. There was just never a good time to commit to singing and going to rehearsals.
Dr. John Dickson, who was the conductor at the time, wanted to bring back his signers (he was there from 2000-2008, leaving after my sophomore year), for a reunion/alumni concert. Despite the surge of the Omicron variant that forced many of the alumni to drop their commitments to attend at the last minute, many of us, including myself, still managed to show up.
I was so grateful for Z's support. I had a lot of guilt wanting to attend this reunion, but he took days off from work without any hesitation to hold down the fort and take care of Zoe. I know we moms are always told to never feel guilty about self-care or pursuing things that make us happy, but it is much easier said than done in my opinion.
Another huge plus from this was being able to spend some time with my college roommates, Erika and Candace, although less time than we hoped because of rehearsals. Candace even drove from Amarillo to see me, and we were able to do a lot of catching up at Erika's house. Erika hosted me during those days, and I got to hang out with her sweet babies. We got to recreate our takeout trip to Fazoli's in our pj's and do lunch at Saigon Cafe, which was our favorite place.
We had 2 days of intense rehearsals ("intense" because I hadn't sung 5-6 hours a day since spring 2009 and my throat was wondering what the heck I was doing) followed by the alumni concert Sunday afternoon. We also got to meet and sing a few pieces with the current University Choir members...ahh they are so young and vibrant haha. The night before the concert, we got to play a little dress-up and enjoyed a night of conversation and dancing...and maybe some alcohol.
While I was familiar with most of the pieces Dr. Dickson chose (which also surprised me how much remembered my parts still), there were a couple of songs that I was completely unfamiliar with and gave me a good brain workout trying to sightread and learn in two days. I may have had brain fatigue by the end of the day, but I enjoyed getting a little musical workout that hadn't been done in so many years.
(Many of these photos were taken by Sarah K Damron Photography)
After singing my heart out - and my soul reenergized - I had my sweet reunion with Zoe.
Later that month, we attended our friend's daughter's 1-year old birthday. While we may not have any immediate family that lives nearby, we are thankful to be able to live close to some of our friends and partake in their celebration.
February
We welcomed the month of February with a freeze and some snow, although nothing like that of last year's freak winter storm. It was also when I realized how few winter clothes Zoe actually have and started doing impulse online shopping in preparation for our upcoming snowboarding trip.
A few other things we did were watching the lion dance as part of the Chinese New Year and having a few playdates with local moms I met on Facebook. It hasn't been easy trying to make new mom friends, but I'm trying!
Of course, the highlight of last month was our snowboarding trip to Colorado. I'll eventually recap our experience later this month, but for now, here is your future snowboarder.
And here I am FINALLY finishing this post at 1:45am...I'm going to regret staying up.
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