january.

January.

What a stupid month. Honestly. Let’s be real here…what is the point of January? And I ask that knowing full well it is the birth month of two of my favorite people in the world – both of whom I love celebrating, but also…January is stupid. It’s long. Whose idea was it to end the holiday months with 31 days of nothingness?

Kids back to school. No good sports. No holidays. We are all exhausted and peopled-out from the holiday season. No one wants to be productive. Everyone just wants to relax and unwind and probably detox from the holidays. If we are being honest, the holidays really start to ramp up in March with Spring Break, Easter, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day weekend to kick off summer, Father’s Day, Fourth of July, back to school and college football in August, my birthday in September, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. I don’t even know why I took Christmas decorations down…the holidays are almost upon us again if 2024 passes even half as quickly as 2023.

January is the equivalent of 2 pm on a Friday afternoon when you want nothing more than to load up and head to the airport for a fun weekend trip with your little family. But you can’t because you have to pick your kids up from school at 3 and you’re not even leaving until 6. It’s like…fun is *right* there but still just far enough away that you don’t have the motivation to do anything fun or enjoyable because you still have obligations. Hi, January. We can see the kids’ Spring Break and our annual trip. We can see our summer vacations and pool days. We can almost taste the fun things that spring and summer bring, but we have to get through January first.

Now – I don’t mind the short days and cold weather. I thrive in this situation. But January is boring (Sorry to my sweet husband & Stephanie…happy birthday month, loves…I love you both so much even though you were both born in the most boring month ever!).

If we are being honest, it’s just because I’m exhausted and not ready for the kids to go back to school and sports. It’s killing us slowly. You just read that with the Fugee’s sound, didn’t you? Naturally, the new year has so many amazing things to offer – January does offer a bit of a break from the hecticness that is the holiday season. It’s busy, we overdo it with the parties and events and fun plans, and we pay for it in January. But it’s also boring. Actually, I don’t love any month that doesn’t end in ‘ber’. There. I said it.

But the new year is about making new goals and reflecting on lessons learned in the previous year. 2023 was a weird year. It was amazing…but it was filled with life changes and major decisions. Personally, 2023 was a year in which I gave up so many things that no longer bring me joy or peace. But it was also a year filled with so many spectacular moments, memories, and such happiness.

What’s 2024 looking like? Well…it’s also filled with major changes. For example, I’m taking my real estate exam. I got started in real estate when I was 19, but I decided to put it off for a while. My husband – then boyfriend – proposed, and we thought planning a wedding, building our first house, and going to school all at the same time I was trying to begin my real estate career was a good plan. It wasn’t the time. Then I began writing in 2009 and never stopped. But with the changes being made in the publishing industry, I’m no longer creatively fulfilled or happy writing because of the things being asked of me, the demands being made, and the tone many publications want me to use so as ‘not to offend’ anyone. You do you, boo, but I’m doing me – and that is not how I’m doing it.

As far as writing – here we go. Tiffanyraiford.com is where it’s at in 2024. This is where I am writing. This is where my creativity lives now, and I’m very much at peace with this decision. However, I also made the decision in 2023 to sit down with my real estate course and study. I did it in two weeks, passed with a 90s percent, and I’m ready to take my state exam and try something new and challenging – and I haven’t been this excited about something in a while!

2024 also looks a lot more deliberate for our family, too. We implemented boundaries in 2023 that didn’t work for everyone, but they did work for us. Prioritizing is everything, and my family, our health, our rest, and our peace are at the top of the list. We will continue to say no to things that don’t serve purpose in our lives, events we don’t want to attend, and set boundaries when needed.

2024 is also going to be a more present and more deliberate year. We are busier than ever with the children and their schedules, and being more deliberate with our time outside of those things is just imperative to us. Running on empty didn’t work, but learning to be deliberate about making plans and even scheduling rest into our lives has been a major source of peace. Being more present with the kids has made such an impact, too. Nothing is more important than continuing to carve out time to spend with them as a family.

I’d also like to spend 2024 being a little more deliberate with myself. I want to be kinder to myself. I want to learn patience. I took a social media hiatus after Christmas, and it was glorious. I still haven’t been back on Facebook yet. I’ve checked messages, but haven’t scrolled through anything in over a week, and I find myself often forgetting where I left my phone. I’ve read more, played more games with the kids, watched more movies with them at night, and spent more time walking with them and the dog. It’s been amazing. Limiting my social media presence isn’t necessarily a goal, but I realized I don’t care if someone has hurt feelings because I didn’t respond to a post or like a photo. If I happen to see it, I’ll do it. If not, that’s okay, too. I’m not any less happy or proud of anyone…I’m just not on there as often.

Long story short, the goal for 2024 is to have a spectacular year, improve what I can, learn new things, and be a little bit better than I was every day.

Happy New Year!