It’s December 31st. I’m stoked; tomorrow I get to turn the page on my calendar, crack open a new planner, and start fresh. For the briefest of moments I’ll be able to channel my inner Anne of Green Gables and say it’s a new year with no mistakes in it…yet.
In addition to annual goals (which I’m not setting in 2024), I like to track “ta-das”…little (and big) things I do that don’t fall under my official goals list, but deserve to be celebrated. It is shameless back-patting on my part, but I think it’s a great exercise. We all need/crave/deserve positive reinforcement, and labeling something as a “ta-da” can make even the smallest accomplishments feel more noteworthy and celebratory.
(Doesn’t the word alone – ***Ta-Da*** – conjure up thoughts of pixie dust and magical things? I’m expecting Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother or Gandalf to show up at my door every time I say it!)
Here are some of my Ta-Das from 2023, organized by month. I lost steam as the year progressed so didn’t note too much after October-ish.
January:
- Hosted family (for four nights; x3 people)
- Added a dictionary to my Kobo
- Booked a babysitter and saw Avatar in theatres
- Did a blog swap with Laura Vanderkam (on my now-deleted blog – whomp, whomp)
- Decided to get an endometrial ablation after decades of menstrual issues (#Adulting)
- Hung a mirror in the blank space over our couch + hung a thrifted painting in the entryway (I still love both)
- Figured out how to issue dividends through our small business
- Sent our Christmas photocard to a local nursing home (oops; a little late)
February:
- Took A + a friend sledding
- Had an endometrial ablation!
- Survived the horrific pre-trip chaos/illnesses before Rome
- Shook off those issues and enjoyed the heck out of our time in Italy.
March:
- Went to the ski hill ALONE; then went 5 more times
- Made ice wreaths with the kids
- Bought 2024 ski passes for A + myself
- Took Dad to a local museum as a belated birthday gift. He loved this day so much and it made me happy I could carve out this father/daughter time. These opportunities won’t be mine forever, and I’m so grateful we spent this very special day together, just the two of us.
April:
- PROACTIVELY had a wisdom tooth removed + fixed a chipped tooth
- Hosted a family of 7 for lunch on Good Friday (the day after my wisdom tooth extraction); it was so much fun
- Registered L for summer soccer
- Went to see our friends’ son dance in a recital (we used to babysit him; where do the years go?)
May:
- Submitted annual reports for work
- Went to see A perform in The Little Princess twice; she nailed it
- Went to South Carolina to visit family
- (I also had laser eye surgery, but that was a goal, so doesn’t count as a ta-da).
June:
- Bought a new-to-us vehicle
- Organized a thank-you gift for friends
- Hosted my father-in-law
- Survived being sick with the worst stomach bug of my life…while home solo (A gets the biggest Ta-Da in this; she was Head Nurse for the week and knocked it out of the park)
July:
- Installed a door stopper in A’s room (solo!)
- Applied for (but didn’t get) a freelance job
- Spoke to my family doctor about my mental health
- Hosted family (A LOT of them) for four days and explored the best of Nova Scotia
August:
- Made a corporate donation to a local theatre group
- Survived hard things. Survival was my biggest Ta-Da from July through September.
September:
- Solo retreat to my parent’s home
- Found a new therapist
- Started a new blog (after the old one was deleted) and all the ta-das that came with that: designing a logo, doing all the back-end work to select a server, domain name, and new theme. This was a huge ta-da.
October – December
- I kept going to therapy.
- I did blog swaps with Laura Vanderkam and San + hosted 10 guest bloggers on my site (thank you to everyone who participated).
- I organized the AGM and committee meetings for the last time in my project management role!
- I started reading through The Bible Recap. I have felt God’s presence more this year than at any time in my life.
- I dealt with some really tough things (mostly) head-on. (I’ve learned a lot, grown a lot and cried a lot in 2023.)
- I stepped down from my project management role on December 1st. It was time – after a decade of small business ownership and juggling multiple jobs and frequent solo-parenting.
- I decided to launch a Year of Shmita (the success of which is still to be determined).
- Enjoyed a wonderful Christmas – with healthy, happy kids and adults.
Nothing revolutionary, just little things that I jotted down when I felt proud of an accomplishment. Since I’m going “goalless” in 2024, I guess next year all I’ll have to offer is Ta-Da’s!
Your turn. I’d love it if you would share a Ta-Da (or two or three or a dozen!) from 2023.
Header photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Steph
Wow, Elisabeth! So many gold stars to you!
This year I spoke up for myself in a way that surprised people that had previously benefited from me being agreeable.
I went by myself to a supper club in another country!
And I signed up for dance lessons after realizing that I was paralyzed by insecurity.
Elisabeth
Steph, I adore ALL of these Ta-Das.
Yay for dance lessons and fancy supper clubs and standing up for yourself!! These are awesome. <3
Kaethe
I just literally just read about the Bible Recap on a friend’s FB post and decided to try it in 2024! I’m so glad to hear you like it. I’m a little intimidated about keeping up with it!
Elisabeth
Oh yay! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have; I like that it’s organized in 365 readings, but they’re NOT dated. I started at the latter part of 2023, so I hope to finish it in 2024, but if I don’t that’s okay!
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
Yay for 2024 being the Year of the Ta-Da! I can’t wait to hear about all of your adventures. My crystal ball says that it’s going to be a great year. Oddly enough after a few years of goal-less-ness I’ve got a small list for 2024.
My Ta-Da’s of 2023 were: all of the solo trips that I took while my family was at Boy Scouts and our three family trips, going to therapy and continuing to reap the rewards, and quitting my thankless job which somehow ended up with me getting a massive raise.
Elisabeth
I think BECAUSE I’m going goal-less, I’m extra excited about what other people are doing!!
Love your ta-da’s. Your experience with therapy really inspired me and it was a huge (huge!) step forward for me in 2023.
Katie
I love these! I feel like I’ve had some similar experiences of lots of painful growth and learning. Still very much in the thick of it! My ta-da’s would include– permanently getting off all social media, completing a mini home renovation, selling our old table/buying a new table, starting a book club, and taking a ski trip with my extended family!
Elisabeth
You hit the nail on the head: “painful growth.” Growing hurts a lot of the time and 2023 sometimes felt like a lot of back-to-back sucker punches. But I grew A LOT…I know that now.
Your friendship has been a wonderful perk of my year and I look forward to growing together. Hopefully less painfully in 2024?
And wow – those are a lot of wonderful Ta-Da’s! Go you <3
Jenny
You have a LOT of ta-das!!! Other than my big race, I can’t think of any specific ta-das for 2023- but I’m probably not trying hard enough. Or, maybe one of my goals for 2024 should be to record ta-das as I go along so the whole year doesn’t just meld together.
I hope you’re enjoying your New Year’s Eve!
Elisabeth
Yes, I write mine down (obviously arbitrary) or I forget.
I think running such a big race is the equivalent of about five dozen Ta-Da’s!
Melissa
Well done Elisabeth. That is a lot of Ta-da’s!
Before we went away I went to my GP and insisted she write me a referral to a neurologist regarding my vertigo/migraines. She was a bit resistant, questioning whether it would make a difference, but I’ve put up with them for 20 years and another friend who is also a GP said things have changed since I first started getting it and they might be able to do something about it. I was stupidly nervous but I stood my ground to get what I needed.
Elisabeth
Wow, Melissa, I’m so sorry you have been struggling for so long, but HUGE gold stars for advocating for your health and getting those appointments made – praying the next steps in the process go smoothly, quickly, and provide you with answers and permanent relief <3
mbmom11
You should be so proud of yourself- that is so much to accomplish. Esp when you did so much of it with so much life going on.
It’s been a rough year, but one ta-da is that I home schooled one son for semester. Not always easy, but I think he learned a lot, and it gave us the time to address some issues before he returned to public school in the fall. (Which wasn’t a great time, but now I have a better plan forming for the future).
Elisabeth
Wow, that’s a BIG Ta-Da. Homeschooling a child is a major commitment and I’m sure a lot of thought and preparation had to go into the decision. I hope 2024 goes very smoothly in terms of schooling. It’s a lot of navigate…especially when a child is struggling. So sorry, my friend, for the rough patches you’ve both faced.
Shelly
Ta Da has a throw your arms in the air look what I did feeling to it (for me). Either way it’s fun to say. A great idea to keep a running list so things don’t get lost by the end of the year. I love that your list is monthly as usually the months with bigger things stand out typically.
I looked back at goals I had written for 2023, and forgot that I wrote them (face slap). In the end I did manage 6 and a half out of 20 that were written. Not great but pretty good for not looking at that list once during the year. Unfortunately several of the ones I didn’t do were around eating, health, and exercise. I plan to read some of the books you have read as it is time to shift and not be writing down the same failed goals that obviously don’t work for me.
On to Ta Da’s: I was promoted (a huge leap and work to apply and to the interview process), we went to Niagara Falls at Easter, bought a new to us camper and sold the one we had. This one is a bit bigger which brought more enjoyment than I realized it would. I hosted Christmas. I am also working on how I relate with my tween and teen, although it’s ongoing I feel like that was a Ta Da that started helping our relationship this past year.
Elisabeth
Ha! Well, I think it’s a fun twist on things to write them down and NOT revist them.
Congrats on the major job news (go you!), and having a tween I know how hard it is to work on those relationships, so a whole sheet of gold stars for making progress in that area. Wonderful Ta-Das, Shelly!
Kyria @ Travel Spot
Nice work on all of the things you got done! I will pat you on the back too…pat, pat. Unfortunately, things like your ablation are the kinds of things I know I should do, or should look into, but often put off. I need a crown on one tooth but I really, REALLY don’t want to do it, but I know that if I don’t my teeth are going to start leaning and then I will probably have other worse issues, but I still really don’t want to do it. I had to wait until I switched insurance so now that it is Jan 1, I have no more excuses, but still I want to drag my feet. So, kudos to you for getting not just one but three of those difficult health related (four if you could the therapist!) things done. You really killed it this year with that kind of stuff!
Elisabeth
Aww. I love a good back pat – haha. Thanks, friend <3
Adulting things are rarely fun, but I'm so glad I got the wisdom tooth/ablation etc. I'm still on the fence about the eye surgery since it was elective and has been a bit of a gong show and still is, but it's done and it was a big decision and such is life.
All the best with your dental decisions. Never fun but you WILL feel better once it's over. Maybe you could break it down into steps and the first job is just to make an appointment at some point in the future?
sarah
Yay, Elisabeth!!! Love this wrap up and framing of your year. You are an inspiration to many, my friend.
Elisabeth
Aww, shucks. Thanks <3
Daria
These little (or not so little) Ta-Das is when life actually happens. I loved your list!
Elisabeth
This is so true: these moments/experiences are “when life actually happens.”
NGS
Wow! What a lovely thing to track. I think most of my “ta-das” would be things like “got out of bed on time,” “actually used lotion,” and “didn’t murder the cat when she was screaming for dinner for an hour and a half,” so look at you with your therapy and travel. You are rocking this!
Elisabeth
Engie, Engie – YOU ARE SELLING YOURSELF SO SHORT. You got a new job! You sent out so many cards and gifts and blog posts into the world that brightened the lives of those around you. You met up with Anne and Kae! You read an obscene number of books (a good obscene), you participated in a book club, YOU SURVIVED YOUR COMMUNITY CENTRE ROLE and also knew when it was time to step away and did that.
Your year was full of Ta-Das and I’m glad I got to share in a small portion of them via your blog.
Lisa’s Yarns
I love your ta da list! It’s so inspiring to look back and see what all we accomplished in a year. My tadas were mostly related to work, but I also said yes to more weekends at the lake, including some solo ones when Phil couldn’t be off work to come with, I figured out before and after school care which was a new system for us to navigate, we put Paul in the public school summer program which helped with his transition into K and with the help of my rheumatologist, we figured out how to adjust my RA drugs so my RA would be better managed. That means taking another weekly injection but it’s worth the extra needle pricks!
Elisabeth
You have had a tough year, my friend. So much illness and so many big things to navigate – and underpinning all that a chronic illness that you manage with such grace and determination. I’m so sorry you have to do another weekly injection – ugh – but I am glad that you haven’t has quite as many flares lately.
And getting Taco transitioned to a new daycare + sending Paul off to public school are HUGE ta-das.
Getting your new vehicle, snowshoeing with Kyria, and meeting with with Daria also seem like awesome ta-das.
Nicole MacPherson
What a year you had – so much struggle, and yet so many ta-das! I’m proud of you for navigating such a difficult time. xoxoxo
Elisabeth
Thanks for supporting me every step of the way!
San
I loved the term ‘ ta-da list’ ever since I first read it on your (old) blog. I think it’s a genius term to celebrate the small, but valuable things in our every day lives. You did a great job keeping track throughout the year! Some things were “not so fun” (like the ablation, getting a wisdom tooth removed or going to therapy), but you know they still made your year better! I am happy to see so many good things though that were highlights during an overall tough year. <3
Anne
These are wonderful, Elisabeth. You did so many amazing things this year while simultaneously taking on so many challenges and turning them into ta das. You survived, you figured out what you needed to do, and you figured out who you need in your life to deal with all of those challenges. Cheers to you, my resilient, strong, and persistent friend. <3
Elisabeth
Thanks! It was quite a year!