2023 was a year of adventure, travel, and football. Football? That’s right, The Baltimore Ravens have sponsored an all-girls flag varsity football league in our county and my daughter made the team as a starting center. I never imagined I’d be a football mom, but there I am with my team spirit swag cheering for our team. What I love about doing a Year in Review is that even when day-to-day a year does not seem grand, it is easy to see how exciting it really was when we view it in hindsight.
I used to overload my schedule each day and feel like a flop for failing to complete all of the tasks, But now I add only 3-5 things and try to focus my energy on long-term projects, doing a little bit at a time. It’s amazing how it adds up.
“Most people overestimate what they can do in a day, and underestimate what they can do in a month. We overestimate what we can do in a year, and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade.”
-Matthew Kelly
JANUARY
Worked on Dante Sculpture
January is one of my favorite months. The stress of the holidays has died down and there’s so much optimism in the air.
I was also a part of a panel discussion for the ACLS with Dr. Michael Crosbie.
FEBRUARY
A Visit to the Capitol
Southwest Liturgical Conference where I was the Zoom panel host about the history of Baptismal fonts with Dr. Johan de Parys.
I went to Annapolis as a guest of Delegate Karen Simpson, District 3.
Jazz concert in DC and Busboys and poets.
MARCH
Cancer free and Nous Voyageons à Paris!
March is a rough month for me. It is the anniversary of my beloved grandmother’s death as well as the anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. This year, however, I celebrated 6 years since my diagnosis. This is great news as it means that I no longer require biannual CT scans!
Wellspring Artist-Mother Panel
What’s more, this March I traveled to Paris with my best friend of 25 years!
APRIL
Château d’Orquevaux
I spent the entire month in the French countryside at Château d’Orquevaux with 20 incredible artists.
Chateau Life
The beauty of this place cannot be understated.
MAY
Re-Entry is hard
I spent much of the month re-adjusting to normal life, taking walks, and marveling at the beauty of spring in Frederick.
Garden
We built a dry stream bed with the help of some teenagers from church.
JUNE
Sweet 16!
My daughter turned 16 this year and we celebrated with friends at the Hofbräuhaus in Pittsburgh.
New Studio!
I spent nearly the entire month cleaning out the new space and moving my stuff into it. It was well worth it for this gorgeous new studio with a garage bay, windows, and a sink!
Adam and Eve Mourning the Dead Abel, c. 1818–1822
terracotta
Canova at the National Gallery of Art
I love how close I am to Washington, DC and all of the wonderful museums. An exhibition of Antonio Canova’s works in clay opened in June. I went down for the opening lecture and to see the show.
JULY
A Cabin in the Woods
We enjoyed some time with friends in the forest at Burr Oak State Ohio. Highlights included stargazing, walks in the woods, campfires, boating on the huge lake, and lounging about with books and quiet.
AUGUST
End of Summer
August is mostly about being hot and finding ways to keep cool. We spent time with friends at the pool and eating frozen treats.
We did manage to have some fun with friends who were visiting all the way from New Zealand. We went to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum, the National Zoo and the National Gallery of Art to see the Canova exhibit again.
Football Season
I’m a football mom now.
SEPTEMBER
Cleaning Claire
Bronze statues need regular maintenance, so I waited for extremely hot temperatures and had the city haul over some ladders. I washed and waxed for two days and now Claire looks good as new!
OCTOBER
Halloween is the very best holiday.
NOVEMBER
Happy Birthday to Me
My daughter had a football district championship game at the UnderArmour training facility. Her team lost the first game, but they decided to stay and watch the other games. Since it was my birthday, we drove over to Dundalk for a dinner at Vinny’s Cafe, a Baltimore Classic.
DECEMBER
Merry Christmas
We celebrated Christmas Eve at the beautiful historic Hillsborough Reformed Church at Millstone, New Jersey. The music was incredible with a handbell choir, brass, organ and amazing singers. We followed it with our traditional dinner at Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
Unfortunately, we also all came down with covid-19. We managed to avoid it for nearly four years, but could not outrun it forever. So, we went home and hid under the covers. So much for a Happy New Year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
