Dear Sharon,

As I look back on this year, I wanted to congratulate myself for slowing down. And taking my time. And sustaining my focus on things that mattered over a long period of time. Letting go of excess; distilling what is most important right now; putting those priorities into clear and aligned action. These have been the guiding principles of the year.

On the personal front, there have been huge strides. I’ve shed so much excess weight – literally and figuratively. I’ve been deeply curious about my health. Learning with the support of a health coach and community of women in their 40s focused on learning about our hormones. Some of the very basic foundations of my biology and bio individuality were a mystery before – and now they are not. As a result I’m moving through my life and work with new consciousness and ability to respond to what before sat beneath the surface. This awareness has led me to come back to cooking and planning for how to nourish our family of 5 in a sustainable, values-aligned and practical way. It’s led me to experiment with long fasts. Intermittent fasting never really inspired or worked for me. But I’ve got a regular practice of 24-hour fasts now that are blowing my mind. I’m learning so much about habits and the difference between good and bad discomfort. With guidance and support, I’ve even pushed into 48 hour+ fasts which I’m finding are showing how much my body and mind are synced and capable of. It feels great.

I can’t talk about shedding without referencing the great Decluttering Festival of 2023. Since August, with the support of my whole family and a dear friend, I have touched ALMOST every object we own. Think, every Play Mobil spoon, every t-shirt, every expired medicine bottle. I have always been drawn to organizing and reimagining spaces…just ask my mom about the messes I would make in order to pick up. And this process has allowed me to remember what I want for my family and myself, to let go of what no longer served, and to then get curious about how to create beauty and function with what we do want in our life. We turned the study into a snug. We moved the gym into the family room and made the gym a play room. A couple of key takeaways from this process. When in doubt or struggling to let go, keep it and move on. You can always let it go later, but the energy spent debating isn’t helpful to the whole process. Next! We also benefitted enormously from a shared family commitment that nothing would be let go of unless all the relevant parties agreed. So one kid still wants that toy. It stays. One person wants that glass. It stays. One kid wants 32 t-shirts. They all stay. From what remains we design around it and around who cares about. It’s a beautiful way to decorate and give shape to spaces. We aren’t all the way done yet…but I can tell you that my spirit feels lighter and I’m able to drop into play with my family – and for myself – with significantly greater ease as a result. What a gift.

And the life lessons I see my kids learning make me so proud. My youngest cuts easily to what needs to stay and how things need to go. When reviewing his clothes he knew that something that just “isn’t my style” could be donated to give new life. Something that was worn through was ready to be thrown away. Something he loved that was torn could be mended. Something he loved that was all good could be placed in the appropriate drawer. My middle child is a classic Libra. Holding both sides of every decision and often agonizing when being asked to make a choice. And yet through this process, he has been able to more swiftly say yes or no to an object. He has been able to communicate when he has a stake in the decision and when he doesn’t. He is finding his voice in whole new ways. And my oldest has demonstrated her steadfast ability to wade into the messiest of middles and make sense of it. Take her doll collection. She took several bins of clothes and objects and dolls and culled what felt special. She looked around afterwards and noted, “Mom, it’s wild. But now that we don’t have those other things here, it feels so much better.” She took what remained and is now transforming an old cabinet into a multi-level home for her most special dolls. It makes my heart so happy.

This year has also been a lot about coming home and finding myself again. What a joy it was to spending several days backpacking with my husband through the heart of the Adirondacks. Working toward our shared goal of climbing all the 46 high peaks by the time we are 46. We are now over half-way there! No partnership is ever perfect because we are all so wildly imperfect ourselves. And I really appreciate how easy things are when I’m alone with my partner. And how much we are learning about ourselves and our partnership through being a part of a more complex and demanding family system. There have been some really hard moments this year as we work through what we want our partnership to look like in this season of life…but where there is love, commitment and learning there is hope. And I feel all of those things in abundance.

Work is the part of my life that has always come easiest. Perhaps it is the Capricorn in me? I’m not afraid to work hard, I love the loftiest of goals and I want to make all the ideas practical. Work is such a lovely playground for my natural way of being. But this year has felt harder. 2021 was your Year of No – especially for my business Point Road. As a result, 2022 was a year of untangling from long-term commitments. I brought an intentional approach to these transitions and this took time. My commitment to letting go of what no longer fit meant that 2023 FINALLY had a clearer slate. More space for me to carve out my own direction and to start calling in what I wanted to do next – what Point Road wanted to do next. I learned that focus and paying attention to my pace was important during this time. My ability to hold vast potential sometimes gets in the way of my ability to stay in the present and focus on one thing at a time. I am celebrating that I have asked for help where needed, set/maintained and upheld boundaries that serve my business, done an overhaul of systems to pave the way for what’s next…all while continuing to work with clients who make my heart happy. 

A coach I really admire shared this comment to a recent business milestone I posted on LinkedIn:

Though not with you through every twist and turn of your 11 year journey; those moments we shared along the way brought me a joy seldom experienced with other colleagues who do similar work. You enable the space for true collaboration, authentic vulnerability, deep respect and ultimately meaningful mutual learning.

Congratulations Sharon. You and Point Road Studios has made a difference; one you’ll probably never fully know! Keep the faith my friend!

I cannot tell you how much these words speak to my heart. I am profoundly grateful to do work that feels so utterly aligned with my spirit. It’s a gift I wish to model and lead others to on their own paths.

What I want to share in closing is this. I am so proud of my commitment to curiosity, focus, adaptation and follow through. I will continue to step into deeper consciousness in the new year and see what new connections, opportunities and experiences unfold as a result.

Thank you 2023 for all your gifts. And more please, 2024.

With Love,

Me