Think of the Children's 2024 in numbers
The webinars, travel days and craft projects that defined my year
For the past several years, I’ve done a Year in Review (here’s 2023, 2022 and 2021) where I look back on some of the numbers that defined the previous 365 days. It used to just be a roundup of pitches and bylines, but I contain multitudes, so this list does too.
I’ve written about summer spreadsheets before, but for the past couple of years, I’ve actually had two. One is just to track my family’s schedule. But a few years ago, I decided to take all the info I had been squirrelling away about local summer programs, dress it up a bit, and share it with anyone who wanted it. (Here’s what the 2024 one looked like.) It’s been so fun to have moms come up to me at events and say, ‘Oh, are you the one with the spreadsheet?!’ I’m happy to be able to make this tiny contribution to help local families figure out summer.
2024 was the second year that my husband, daughter and I all entered items in our local county fair. I designed and sewed a quilt, which came out … not the way I intended at all, lol. I want to do something different for 2025 fair. Maybe embroidery? Stay tuned to find out.
When I look back on 2024, I think I will remember the travel the most. I flew across the country four times this year to visit my mom and dad, including a three-week stay in May. I learned that it’s somehow possible to be away from my husband and my kid for way too long, while also feeling like I’m spending not nearly enough time with my parents. Whether it was missing an important doctor’s visit for my mom, or missing my daughter’s first-ever swim meet, choosing where to be when felt like a no-win situation.
I also traveled to four professional conferences in four different states, presenting at three of them. That was fun! I’m looking forward to more professional speaking opportunities in 2025.
2024 was my best year for online sales since before the pandemic. I’ve been selling vintage clothing and accessories on Etsy since 2012, but this year I followed my husband’s advice and invested more time into selling on Depop, which has paid off. I’ve always loved clothes and fashion, so I love sourcing new items and finding happy homes for them.
I broke out of my months-long slump of not pitching stories in late 2024 when I landed a pitch at Insider. It felt good to get back on the horse, to so speak! I still feel pretty rusty at pitching stories, but I have a few ideas germinating for 2025.
I also reached out to my local newspaper/former employer to take on some freelance assignments. Covering the city council has proven pretty interesting so far, and I’m hoping to contribute more local news coverage in 2025.
2024 was a really exciting year in the digital accessibility world, with the publication of the Department of Justice’s “final rule” updating the Americans with Disabilities Act. I am so excited to be hosting a monthly virtual professional learning community on digital accessibility for school communications professionals. (If that’s you, I hope you’ll join us!)
Organizing this PLC has been a lifeline during a time of tremendous burnout. It combines so many things that energize me professionally, like facilitating group discussions, brainstorming strategic approaches to problems, and talking about how much I hate PDFs. I can’t wait to host the next PLC in January!
2024 has been an uneven year for this newsletter. I was thrilled to reach a milestone of 1,000 subscribers (yay! and thank you!), but I struggled at times to meet my commitments and stick to a schedule. I’m pausing paid subscriptions for now so I can regroup and come up with a more sustainable model. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to more great conversations with all of you, and with more amazing authors, in 2025. These were some of the posts you loved the most in 2024:
Thank you for reading, and happy New Year!
Congrats on all the accomplishments this year! Getting back on the horse and settling into new professional/parent identity is definitely a work in progress for me. Inspiring to see others settling in.
I love this format, I love that you contain multitudes, & now I have spent way too much time scrolling through your vintage shop :) (You say the rainbow suspenders are perfect for Pride; my Gen X brain screams "Mork & Mindy!")