Saturday, December 09, 2023

2023 in review.

After 50 years of classrooms, textbooks, quizzes, and first days, this August I let school start without me. Retiring after 32 years at L.D. Bell High School was bittersweet, and after 50 years in school as a student or teacher, it was surreal to extend my "summer break" into the fall months.

Yes, 2023 marked a major lifestyle change for us, and so far, it has been a wonderful! Long weekends, business trips, casual lunches have all been lovely additions to my new routine. How wild to think that I can get sick without worrying about lesson plans or refreshing Subfinder to see if anyone picked up the job! Not gonna lie: I DO miss teaching. I miss the students, I miss certain lessons and "aha" moments, and most of all, I miss my colleagues. But they say you know when the time is right, and this was it for me.

Retirement festivities dominate my memories of this eventful year, but there were vacations and road trips, thrilling sports moments, and just good old-fashioned family times, too. Since this blog acts as my personal scrapbook, I'm using this space to document the highlights of 2023.

January-March

April-May

June

July

August

September

October



November

Big wins, family time, JFK anniversary 















December

Big 12 championship, Daisy, broken foot, new opportunity