|
Welcome to the final Down to Business of 2024!
A year ago, I noted that wrapping up the year is an odd concept because there is no clear reset point. Life isn’t “live, die, repeat,” or whatever your favorite movie or story says about resetting things. I said, “I turned 49 recently, I feel no different than I did at 48, and doubt I’ll feel different at 50.” I can now affirm, 50 feels like 49, and if 49 felt like 48, well…
As we wind down the year and the month, I’ll note that I decided in late November that I was familiar with Prince’s hits and less with his misses. I looked and between 1978 and 2016 he had 40 studio albums. That’s wild. For me, after maybe 1995, there was a drop-off in my Prince knowledge (the year of his 17th album, I recently learned). So, I decided to listen to at least one Prince album every day for the month and digest them all. It’s a varied experience. Check it out.
Speaking of variety, did you check out the events and activities downtown this month? The strolls and shopping opportunities are a lot of fun and I hope you took advantage of the interesting stores, restaurants, and services Dover has to offer.
Someone out there is waiting with bated breath for the following info (I just know it!), so here it goes:
- In 2023, I walked 6,392,502 steps (approximately 3,200 miles). I put just over 4,000 miles on my truck.
- In 2024, I walked 7,035,989 steps (approximately, 3,518 miles). My truck’s mileage increased by the same 4,000 miles as last year.
- A bit of a brag: I moved 37,000 steps earlier this month beating my previous high of 35,000 steps, which occurred in late May.
- In 2024, I read 163 books and over 63,169 pages.
- In January, I noted that writing the numbers was to encourage me to walk more steps and read more pages and books, and I did, so mission accomplished.
- And, yes, today is the day my Amazon Prime membership was set to renew, and I canceled it. Shipping is typically no longer two days, and the ease of ordering encouraged me to spend more money on whimsical purchases than needed. In addition, I don’t use Prime's music, unlimited reading, or video services. Prime video’s ads were the kicker for me, so after what has to be 20 years, I am out of Prime. Maybe I’ll miss it, but I don’t expect to. In January, I am going to do an audit of my subscriptions and reoccurring costs and see what I can peel off the budget, so I expect this will be the first of a few right-sizing experiences.
A quick reminder that we all need self-care this time of year, so please take time for yourself and your family. Celebrate your holiday and your relationships with others. Be thankful for the accomplishments of the year behind and the ones to come next year.
As always, a highlight of the year is the decorated homes for the holidays. I noticed more decorations at Halloween than in previous years, so that was a good addition to life. Wallace Drive continues to make me smile as did the return of Luke’s Lights.
|
