Hello! You’re getting this email because I’ve thought about you in the last few months. I’ve wondered what you were up to, and I thought you might like to know what’s been going on in my life. No obligation to respond! Just beaming my vibes your way :)
Yesterday was my 39th birthday, and today is Aki’s first birthday(!). I took the day off yesterday, and spent it doing my favorite thing to do when I have a solo day off, which is to make a whole day out of a couple errands around the city. I took a yoga class — my first fitness class in over a year! — did a brunch and window-shop in the East Village, got a cut and a perm, and bought some birthday stuff for Aki. Kevin made me a charcuterie board of finger food for dinner.
Congrats to me, and everyone, for making it through the last 12 months. I don’t think I feel much different, but when I think about the fact that I had a baby and kept it alive for a year, while still maintaining my sense of self, I’m like, “That feels like a huge accomplishment. I MUST have grown, maybe BECAUSE I feel the same.”
I’ve been sort of sick for like, the last two months. The current thing is a coughing fit that sounds horrible and drains my energy so bad. I finally got prescription meds and it still sucks. Sucks sucks sucks.
Mental slumps at work ebb and flow. There’s been a lot of change at Etsy, and I feel lucky that I’ve stayed ahead of it all and that people seem to trust me at my job. But also that leads to pressure to stay ahead, and some days I worry that I can’t sustain it. I guess this is a long way of saying, I’m interested in gathering info about other options! If you have experience in people management, switching tech jobs, or changing careers entirely (maybe from or to … bookkeeping/accounting??), I think I want to talk to you about it 👀
An upside is that I’ve finally started to bring fitness back into my life again, just this last week or so. It’s taken so much longer than I had wanted, but rationally, realistically, the timing seems entirely reasonable I guess. I’m still taking it day by day. I’m a habitual person, but/and I am realizing that it takes a while for something to actually become a habit. In the meantime, I’m just trying to celebrate my wins, like that yoga class, and expect not much beyond that. I hope to return to running (lol can’t believe I like running now) or even a dance class at some point. For now, I’m happy to be moving my body again.
A thing I’m hoping to do more of this year is to take action rather than let it sit. I was listening to a podcast (Vibe Check!) where one of the hosts said “I’m leaving complacency behind in 2024,” and it really resonated with me. I thought I did this well last year when it came to finding/building my own circle of people — writing emails like this, getting to know my neighbors, actually texting friends when they cross my mind — and I felt like I got so much out of it. I’d like to expand this action-oriented-ness to more aspects of my life.
Finally, some Aki updates! When Kevin dropped him off at daycare today, he told me that the other kiddos all said, “Happy birthday, Aki!” and the staff presented him with a cake l o l. After daycare, we did a short little celebration with another cake, some balloons (Aki did NOT like them), a Christmas gift that we saved (lol), and a ridiculous fit that I bought yesterday (lolol). Btw HUGE development: Aki bounces when he hears music. Maybe even … to the beat? Omg our dream is happening??? Omg 😭😭😭 Aki is tall/long — 97th percentile height at his 9mo appointment — he crawls, he has SIX teeth, and he still smiles a lot. We call him “Cheese Man” :P
Attaching some recent pics and video. Again, I am thinking of you. I hope you are well. Much love <3
Yoko
917 860 9790
