Meredith Sell

The more I think about 2023, the more I’m struck by how full and good it was. No year comes without challenges — and in some ways, I’m still dwelling in the challenges of 2023 — but this one also had an ample amount of the good, the deep, the beautiful.

Below, I share a trimmed-down list of highlights that shaped 2023 into a uniquely colorful year. The photos are just a selection of my favorites. I plan to print these and a slew of others for a photo album so they don’t only exist in virtual reality. (The last time I made a post like this was for 2021.)

Here are a few things I loved from 2023:

1. Writing cabin weekends

In 2022, my writing group went on a retreat in southern Colorado. We stayed in a cabin for a few days, did some writing, and shared our work one night in an hours-long reading and critique session. One of my writing group friends, Andrea, left the retreat inspired to buy a cabin with her husband.

Not too far from Denver, the cabin has become one of my favorite places. Andrea opened it up to the group several times this year, and I made it every time — in June (when I mostly read and knitted), July (when I got one full day to myself), and October (when a snowstorm came through and kept us in the mountains an extra day).

2. Knitting sweaters for myself and others

When I started knitting sweaters, I originally thought I would do one each winter, but last winter, one of my favorite knitwear designers and YouTubers Kutovakika released her Arctic Light Sweater pattern. I bought the pattern and a stockpile of yarn and started working on mine as soon as I finished my colorwork sweater of a similar name, First Light. I didn’t finish the cabled sweater until the summer — just in time for a break from knitting that left me refreshed enough to volunteer to knit a sweater without a pattern for my short-term roommate this fall. We co-designed the striped and colorbock raglan sweater, and I made it over several weeks, completing it with a homemade tag I embroidered. Sweater knitting is definitely time-consuming, but it’s exciting to have the skills now to just start knitting, no pattern required. And the final product is satisfying.

3. New PRs for deadlift (240) and back squat (230)

Earlier this year, I started following a training program on an app from Brooke Ence. A mix of weightlifting and CrossFit-style cardio, the program has made rebuilding a consistent exercise routine easier because I’m not coming up with the workouts myself (though I definitely go off-script from time to time). This summer, I retested my max lifts and achieved new personal records for my deadlift and back squat. My back squat max is 230, 5 pounds more than my previous deadlift PR, and my deadlift max is 240. Hoping to see those numbers continue to rise this year as I improve my form and mobility.

4. Friday afternoons writing and researching at my favorite cafe

For much of this year, I was able to engineer my workweeks for slow Fridays. I’d do a bit of client work in the morning, and then head to my favorite neighborhood cafe to hunker down with a mug of tea and work on my book project. I made slow, steady progress, wrote a rough introduction at the writing cabin in July, and am still slowly chipping away. This Friday ritual became something I looked forward to — and missed on the weeks that client work bled into my Friday afternoons.

5. Slow, windy mountain drives to fall hiking trails

While I did a few cabin and camping weekends over the summer, complete with white water rafting and a campfire I started with a single match, I didn’t do much hiking until the fall. I found a new favorite hike in the mountains near Nederland — and the drive was just as enjoyable as the hike itself. I hate driving on I-70 through the mountains and in recent years my former favorite alternate route, 285, has gotten busier and more stressful. This drive was on smaller roads with less traffic and more winding curves. The speed limit is 35 most of the way, making the experience more leisurely (partly because I don’t have massive trucks and SUVs bearing down on my little car’s tail). I’m on the hunt for more mountain drives in this genre, so if you have any recommendations, let me know.

6. My baby sister’s college graduation

In May, my little sister graduated with her bachelor’s and MBA, and most of my family gathered in Indiana to celebrate. In my opinion, it was one of the best family get-togethers we’ve had since half of us have spread across the country. There was a lot of quality time, the weather was beautiful, we played some casual soccer in my brother’s backyard, and my sister surprised us by delivering a speech at her own commencement. Smartypants.

7. August trip to Pennsylvania

At the beginning of August, I took a much-needed trip to Pennsylvania to visit my grandmother, aunt and uncles, and cousins. I don’t remember the last time I’d been there — maybe 2018? — and I hadn’t seen my grandmother since a sister’s wedding in 2019, so the trip was well overdue. And because it was well overdue, it was also incredibly emotional. I stayed with my grandmother one night and with my aunt and uncle at their home, aka Camp Parrydise, the other nights. The nostalgia, especially at my aunt’s home, was overwhelming. Shoo-fly pie ice cream rounded out the trip. Let all the Pennsylvania Dutch say, Amen.

8. Black Friday liftoff with my siblings

Leading up to Thanksgiving, I pitched the idea that we do a liftoff in my brother’s basement. He was hosting the feast and has a complete gym setup — squat rack, rower, bike, etc. No one seemed too enthusiastic, but I was able to get four of my siblings on board. We squatted and deadlifted, some for weight, others for reps, others just to try it out. It was less of a competition and more of an experiment — let’s load some weight and see what we can do. I’m considering it my coaching debut (cue the laughter).

9. Denver shows and things

It’s very easy for me to just spend all my free time at home, but this fall, I decided to venture out some more. Or rather, I kept coming across shows in Denver that were of interest to me. First, comedian Zoltan Kaszas was in town for a show at The Bug Theatre. Then, the Colorado Ballet performed Swan Lake for just two weekends at the Denver Performing Arts Center. And finally, my most-listened-to musical artist of the year, Madison Ryann Ward, had a concert at Bluebird Theater, which is maybe a mile from my house. None of them disappointed, but the ballet and concert were top tier. I would have listened to Madison Ryann Ward all night.

10. Wiffleball

This summer, my church put together a very casual, not-at-all-serious wiffleball league. My team was a hodge-podge of people from my small group and a smattering of others. The Pentecostal Flamethrowers (yes, I helped come up with that name) won the self-appointed most improved team award. Every Sunday, I donned my fluorescent orange tank top from Arc Thrift and did my best to throw with a loose grip and bat with my eyes on the ball.

11. Lovewell Colfax

This year, my church also kicked off a new ministry initiative called Lovewell Colfax. Eventually, the plan is for there to be a resource center for folks on the street somewhere along Colfax Avenue, but so far, we’ve worked on building relationships with people who are homeless in our community. My small group went out every other Tuesday this summer to distribute meals and meet people, and continued at least once a month on Sundays through the fall. The experience has been eye-opening and, honestly, has made me feel more human. Homelessness and Denver’s housing crisis are overwhelming, but when you remember that real people made in God’s image are affected, those problems look different. They’re less abstract, less theoretical, and more personal.

12. Butterfly sightings in the garden

Summer 2022, I fell into gardening when I embarked on a project to transform my front yard from an abandoned-looking dirt heap to something that looked welcoming and, simply, nice. This summer, the garden was more full — of plants and color — and that color drew some unexpected visitors. Partway through July, I started seeing butterflies in the garden almost every day. Mostly painted ladies, they loved my echinacea plants. Every morning became an adventure in butterfly watching. I think the record for one day was five or six butterflies. Now I’m calling the front yard my accidental butterfly garden.

I always set new goals or intentions at the beginning of a new year, and 2024 is no exception. But looking back on 2023, I think I’ll be content with more of the same.

Change is inevitable. There’s no way to avoid it. But I want to keep enjoying this life I’ve been given and all its color and texture. The people, the hobbies, the outdoors. I guess my main hope is that 2024 brings more butterflies. Take that as literally or figuratively as you want.