As is my custom, I find it helpful to reflect upon the good and the bad of 2019. I start the year with goals; this post looks back at some of them.
Personal Spending
I took advantage of a favorable financial situation to spend too much and track too little. This needs to go back to full-time tracking and better management next year.
Reading
I met a reduced book goal (40), as I diverted time to learning German. My "owned but unread" pile is still pretty small but growing; I need to keep an eye on that. I started a German Reading List; that's going well. I hope to read 50 books next year. My post here recaps this year's book recommendations.
Games
I played a handful of board games this year, but far fewer than 2018; I've been focusing on Magic: the Gathering because prices in Europe are cheaper (and the online version, called Arena, is free and fun). I played Arena far too much, actually . . . that needs to change. My goal to design a board game this year never happened, as my focus was elsewhere. I may table that one (no pun intended) for a few years.
Fitness
My goal was to lose 10 lbs and (in general) be in better shape; didn't happen. I did get into a better routine working core muscles, which was good. And I consistently worked out 3-4 times per week, but my eating was horrible. (I blame the Germans . . . or their food, at least. Or my complete lack of self-control.) I did miss two months total due to circumstances outside of my control (hotel living, medical situations, etc.), so hopefully we can get on track in 2020.
2014: 51 runs for 104.6 miles, 98 gym workouts
2015: 47 runs for 103.0 miles, 81 gym workouts, 5 soccer games, 5 PT sessions
2016: 98 runs for 205.8 miles, 115 gym workouts, 4 bike rides
2017: 77 runs for 203.9 miles, 111 gym workouts
2018: 44 runs for 78.2 miles, 107 gym workouts, 32 yardwork sessions
2019: 54 runs for 120.6 miles, 85 gym workouts, 26 'other' sessions (hikes, bike rides, moving, etc.)
Blogging
Blogging was consistent. I blogged a lot about travel this year (big surprise), and about the typical games, books, and movies.
Adjustment
We just passed the one year mark in our Germany adventure. We sold our American home and moved into a German home in February. We were blessed to find a suitable church quickly and have enjoyed becoming a part of that community. But adjustment is always difficult, and it's hard watching the kids (and ourselves) as we struggle to form new routines and relationships.
Travel
We took the kids to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and spots in Germany (the Harz Mountains and Bavaria) this year as our bigger trips. Like us, they fell in love with castles, forests and mountains. We've done a myriad of day trips, too, as we enjoy both typical German sites (like Rothenburg) and lesser-known local delights.
Visitors
An unexpected element to the year was the number of visitors we hosted. We lived in our home for 46 weeks in 2019 and hosted seven sets of visitors for 13 of them (28% of the time). Granted, four of those weeks were unplanned- a medical emergency necessitated a longer stay- but it's still a good clip. We loved hosting and seeing friends and family, but to be candid we need to dial that back in 2020.
Fluency
Part of adjustment is gaining fluency in German, to which I dedicated considerable time in 2019. I did DuoLingo app nearly every day (1230 lessons, 82 hours total), completing 57% (70/122) of the subject areas. I also read a few books auf Deutsch, and pondered what it means to be fluent in the first place. I know about 5,000 German words and have a reading level on par with an 8-10-year-old.
Spiritual
My relationship with the Lord made some good strides this year in some aspects- an easier routine has made consistent prayer and scripture times more consistent. That said, this still isn't where it should be. More work to be done.
Parenting
Not many strides in parenting, sadly. My kids- now 9, 7, and 4- are getting easier to handle (in some ways) as they age, but harder to handle in others. We started going over children's catechism questions at dinner- that's gone well and been effective. But other areas remain about the same:
- I'm too quick to anger at home- I have to remember that I can't expect my children to act (or reason) like adults.
- I also get uneasy when the house is a mess- which is all the time- so I have to dial back the OCD if I have any hope of surviving their childhood.
I may focus on minimization (again) in 2020 to help ease up the household mess and make it easier to focus on parenting.
2017: 77 runs for 203.9 miles, 111 gym workouts
2018: 44 runs for 78.2 miles, 107 gym workouts, 32 yardwork sessions
2019: 54 runs for 120.6 miles, 85 gym workouts, 26 'other' sessions (hikes, bike rides, moving, etc.)
Blogging
Blogging was consistent. I blogged a lot about travel this year (big surprise), and about the typical games, books, and movies.
Adjustment
We just passed the one year mark in our Germany adventure. We sold our American home and moved into a German home in February. We were blessed to find a suitable church quickly and have enjoyed becoming a part of that community. But adjustment is always difficult, and it's hard watching the kids (and ourselves) as we struggle to form new routines and relationships.
Travel
We took the kids to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and spots in Germany (the Harz Mountains and Bavaria) this year as our bigger trips. Like us, they fell in love with castles, forests and mountains. We've done a myriad of day trips, too, as we enjoy both typical German sites (like Rothenburg) and lesser-known local delights.
Visitors
An unexpected element to the year was the number of visitors we hosted. We lived in our home for 46 weeks in 2019 and hosted seven sets of visitors for 13 of them (28% of the time). Granted, four of those weeks were unplanned- a medical emergency necessitated a longer stay- but it's still a good clip. We loved hosting and seeing friends and family, but to be candid we need to dial that back in 2020.
Fluency
Part of adjustment is gaining fluency in German, to which I dedicated considerable time in 2019. I did DuoLingo app nearly every day (1230 lessons, 82 hours total), completing 57% (70/122) of the subject areas. I also read a few books auf Deutsch, and pondered what it means to be fluent in the first place. I know about 5,000 German words and have a reading level on par with an 8-10-year-old.
Spiritual
My relationship with the Lord made some good strides this year in some aspects- an easier routine has made consistent prayer and scripture times more consistent. That said, this still isn't where it should be. More work to be done.
Parenting
Not many strides in parenting, sadly. My kids- now 9, 7, and 4- are getting easier to handle (in some ways) as they age, but harder to handle in others. We started going over children's catechism questions at dinner- that's gone well and been effective. But other areas remain about the same:
- I'm too quick to anger at home- I have to remember that I can't expect my children to act (or reason) like adults.
- I also get uneasy when the house is a mess- which is all the time- so I have to dial back the OCD if I have any hope of surviving their childhood.
I may focus on minimization (again) in 2020 to help ease up the household mess and make it easier to focus on parenting.
Conclusion
Though I met a few goals, and some good trends started, I continue to miss on the more important things. Familiar struggles in several important areas remain and must get more attention in 2020. "Never stop starting," as a friend would say.
Though I met a few goals, and some good trends started, I continue to miss on the more important things. Familiar struggles in several important areas remain and must get more attention in 2020. "Never stop starting," as a friend would say.
