In keeping with tradition, here’s my top ten list of the best events of 2024 and the worst events of 2024, vaguely ranked in the order that they most impacted my life/mental health.
BEST
The boys reached an age where they can run wild with limited supervision. I’ve especially loved watching them run free with their cousins on holidays – just like I remember doing. Is this the smell of freedom? (September-ish)
With much trepidation, Liz and I attempted a cross-country road trip – Arizona and back with lots of planned stops – with the boys. We removed screen-time restrictions and let them fry their brains, but the trip was more fun than we thought it would be because they were champions (and because Liz bought a Dino Potty that allowed Mags to go wherever we were). (June 8-19)
Potty-training Magnus was so easy that I wasn’t even sure we were doing/did it. He’s had like two accidents after the initial housebreaking. (February-March?)
Watching Gus absolutely light up at UA-Little Rock’s Nerd Night – so much science and technology. Everyone was so inviting and engaged about all the things my seven-year-old is excited about. We can’t wait to go back next year. (October 23)
My mother gifted Magnus a book about the symphony last year and we have read it so many times that he knows all the instruments by name and most of them by sound. This year he got to hear lots of live instruments – a chamber orchestra at his Montessori school, the symphony with the St. Mark’s Baptist Church choir at the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s grand opening, the Avett Brothers, among other places – and it’s been wonderful to see him absorb it all with so much joy.
On her deathbed in 2018, Alice Marie Choate told her children and grandchildren she wanted us to stay close – I assume she knew she was the glue. In the days after she died, Liz and I committed to each other that we would host everyone at our house in honor of my grandmother’s birthday when we could. We finally made that happen with Mum’s Birthday Brunch at our house and I felt as proud as I would have if she had been there to witness it. (May 11)
A video I helped make was accepted by a film festival at Columbia University, which led to a fantastic trip to New York with Liz.
CAMP WEEK! Gus went to sleepaway camp for a week (!), Magnus went to Camp Nene for a week (!), and Liz and I went to Camp Chicago for a week and – among other highlights – ate one of the best meals of our lives at Jeong.
I set a goal of 10,000 steps per day and finished with an 11,458 average for the year.
I’ve missed going to Little Rock Trojan basketball games, which was something Liz and I did a lot early in our relationship. We decided the boys are finally at an age where they can sit through the games without making us miserable, so we bought season tickets. Magnus is there for the popcorn, Gus reads the whole time, but he’s learned to like the dance cam and the dunks, and I can work with that. (September-December)
WORST
During a trip to Chicago, a homeless person stole Liz’s phone/wallet off the patio table where we were eating lunch. It took us ten seconds too long to realize it happened. The worst part was the embarrassment of feeling so much like a…[gags]…tourist. (July 9)
I pulled a calf muscle, then pulled a hamstring. Recovery lasted forever and maybe sparked a depression. (April-September)
After eight years of taking pictures of my food, I stopped ranking my restaurant meals. I miss the data, I miss the ability to look up where I’ve eaten and when, but I’m glad to have saved myself a considerable amount of time. (Also, it’s worth noting that this almost made my Best list.) (May 12)
Liz and I had separate trips abut each other, which resulted in not seeing each other for 10 days. I did not like it. Not one bit. (September)
Major home expenses hit this year – new gutters, new A/C, new furnace – and they were expensive.
While walking through Gus’s room barefoot, I was ambushed by a stray Lego brick and it broke the skin and gave me a limp for a solid three days. (October 3)
Magnus had a double ear infection, but he didn’t give us any indication until he perforated his ear drum. (June 10)
Mostly due to an organization called General Mills and a product called Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I developed an intense, late-night snack habit that kept me from maintaining any sort of control on my weight-loss goals. (July-December)
I had my worst (and most expensive) fantasy football year since I started playing 16(?) years ago.
Our outgoing pipes froze for five days, limiting us to one sink, one shower, and one toilet. Could have been worse, but it wasn’t fun. (January 16-January 21)
Previous Best/Worst Lists: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.
