When a year ends, I like to send it off with a story. To take 365 days of successes and snafus and lessons learned, get-togethers and professional challenges, adventures near and far and quiet days at home...to take these disparate threads and weave them into a coherent whole.
Some years are easier than others. The year I got married. The year we moved to Cambridge for my Master's program. The year I became a mother.
2019 is harder to define. It was an incredibly full year. Stuffed to the brim with experiences but not defined by any dominant narrative arc. So, as we welcomed the new decade in sunny Florida, I felt confused.
2019 was the year of my first published pieces in major national outlets, the year I pushed myself to try totally new and challenging types of writing, from social commentary to investigative journalism.
2019 also opened the doors to my other professional passion - nonprofit work in Ukraine. I built a college counseling program that helped talented Ukrainian students beat overwhelming college admissions odds. Only a tiny fraction of colleges offer aid to international applicants; among those, acceptance rates for high-need students hover around 1%-3%. In comparison, 75% of my students were accepted in 2019
2019 marked the launch of the Metelyk Grant, my first direct philanthropic effort. I learned how to be a grantmaker from scratch and supported 7 youth-led social projects across Ukraine. Working on the grant was doubly rewarding because I launched it in partnership with Seth; learning to work together on a professional level offered its own unique set of challenges and payoffs. The high demand for the grant led us to turn it into a foundation, which will hopefully continue funding promising Ukrainian nonprofits every year.
The final big professional step I took last year was returning to grad school. I applied and was accepted to a master's program in Marriage and Family Therapy, a subject that has fascinated me for years. I've wanted to continue my education for a while, but it never seemed like a good time. Now, given that I will not be returning to the formal workforce for a few years, I finally decided to go for it.
Which brings me to the reason I don't foresee a full-time job in my near future: baby #2, currently known as Munchie! After a full year of trying, I finally got pregnant in 2019, and now Lana is eagerly awaiting her little sister.
Ahead of Munchie's arrival, we've been fully enjoying life as a family of three with adventures near and far. We've been planning family adventures whenever we have a free weekend - exploring culture, food, and the outdoors both in NYC and small suburban towns in our area. Over the past year, we've discovered independent bookstores, cool playgrounds, hidden gem museums, yummy desserts, and much more.
We've also ventured further afield, visiting family in CT, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Baltimore for various holidays and milestones with our loved ones. Spending more time with family was a primary reason for moving back to the East Coast back in 2017 and we've certainly taken advantage of the proximity to so many relatives.
And, of course, it wouldn't be a year in the Manoff family without some travels. We started off the year with a couples getaway to Stratton - a throwback to our very first ski trip almost a decade ago. In February, we explored Charleston over a long weekend, this time with Lana in tow, and then Lana and I took a detour to Charlotte to visit our cousins.
Perhaps my favorite trip of the year was in May - Seth and I visited Copenhagen and Amsterdam, with a quick stopover in Hamburg. On this trip, we reached the pinnacle of food tourism, trying more many incredible meals than I thought possible. And of course, we took in plenty of European art and architecture - this time with a northern twist.
In June, I planned a 4-generation getaway to a beach house in Long Island, a rare opportunity to travel with my grandparents. My mom joined for part of the trip as well. Fortunately, our house was quite large - and all the extra travelers meant lots of help with Lana. It was a wonderfully relaxing week of wine tasting, al fresco dining, and relaxing on the beach.
In July, I drove to Canada by myself for a conference - my first solo trip in a while, and, to be frank, a really tough experience, mainly because I got really sick almost the minute I arrived. But I am so glad that I didn't shy away from the challenge. I used to be quite independent back in the day, and it was nice to recapture some of that solo strength and spirit, even though I still vastly prefer being with others.
Later in the summer, we tried yet another new kind of trip - sharing a house in Maine with another family. It was a bit more challenging than we expected, but we are really glad we tried traveling this way! Also, more beach time never hurt anyone and we made some more amazing culinary discoveries. (This was the last week before I discovered my pregnancy, so I enjoyed much wine and cocktails...enough to last me the end of the year, I guess!)
On the way back from Maine, we made a stopover in the Berkshires to visit a friend and check out the gorgeous scenery. We liked it so much that we immediately planned an adults-only return trip for the fall. Overcoming my morning sickness, we hiked, checked out historic homes, and enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of my friend and her husband.
And, of course, we rounded out the year with a super-indulgent holiday babymoon in Florida, splitting a week between St. Petersburg and Miami. It was a perfect vacation for a lazy pregnant person who wants to do some sightseeing but also relax on the beach.
Seth (gently) suggested that maybe we travel too much. He might be right, but I love it!
2019 was a big year for Lana as well. She learned to skate, which is now one of her biggest talents, started learning to read and write, and began attending full-day preschool (which meant that I had to adjust to nanny-less life for the first time in a while). She has also grown up so much, from a cute toddler to an incredibly mature little person, who continues to amaze us with her emotional intelligence, sweetness, creativity, hilarious 4-year-old logic, and a seemingly bottomless capacity for love. After seeing how wonderful Lana has turned out, I can't wait to discover what Manoff baby v2.0 will look like ;)
Finally, Seth made a huge decision this year that will have consequences for the whole family - he is leaving his job and taking a sabbatical. Since he has spent most of the past decade working extremely hard, I am so excited for him to get the break he deserves and spend some more time with Lana and me.
So, coming back to the main question - what was 2019 all about? I think it was a year of building - specifically, building our foundation for the decade ahead.
Since Seth and I have been together, nearly every year has been defined by a major life change: graduating college and getting engaged (2009), getting married (2010), grad school/new job/new city (2011), graduating grad school/new jobs/back to old city (2012), new jobs yet again (2013), moving cross-country and new job for me (2014), becoming parents (2015), becoming a published writer/blogger/entrepreneur/Ukranian nonprofit advisor and buying a house (2016), moving back to the East Coast and reshuffling my professional life once again after the startup I worked for went bust (2017).
By 2018, we finally seemed to be settled. No moves; no major job changes; no new family members. I took a breath and then immediately decided to use my newfound free time and energy to pursue my love of travel before I got caught up in life's demands and changes once more.
So, 2018 was the year of glamorous trips - Italy, Iceland, Costa Rica, Montreal. And having traveled my fill (well, almost!) I got down to the business of thinking about bigger questions and making plans. What goals did we want to pursue, both personal and shared, in the coming years? What did we want this next phase to look like?
Seth and I came up with many answers. We wanted to make memories with Lana and teach her to take full advantage of every wonder of this world. We wanted to start giving back through grassroots philanthropic work. We wanted another baby. I wanted to grow as a writer and nonprofit leader; he wanted to transition out of his long-time role in finance and switch careers.
And so, we dreamed and planned and built, trying new directions and improving existing aspects of our lives. No doubt, we failed in some of our experiments; but overall, as we start 2020, I feel proud of the foundation we laid in 2019. Many of last year's big decisions will start bearing fruit this year - my first semester of grad school, Seth's sabbatical, Munchie's arrival, the official launch of our foundation and so much more. Of course, you never know what the future will look like. But I'm super excited about everything we did last year to move toward for the future we want <3
Some years are easier than others. The year I got married. The year we moved to Cambridge for my Master's program. The year I became a mother.
2019 is harder to define. It was an incredibly full year. Stuffed to the brim with experiences but not defined by any dominant narrative arc. So, as we welcomed the new decade in sunny Florida, I felt confused.
2019 was the year of my first published pieces in major national outlets, the year I pushed myself to try totally new and challenging types of writing, from social commentary to investigative journalism.
2019 also opened the doors to my other professional passion - nonprofit work in Ukraine. I built a college counseling program that helped talented Ukrainian students beat overwhelming college admissions odds. Only a tiny fraction of colleges offer aid to international applicants; among those, acceptance rates for high-need students hover around 1%-3%. In comparison, 75% of my students were accepted in 2019
2019 marked the launch of the Metelyk Grant, my first direct philanthropic effort. I learned how to be a grantmaker from scratch and supported 7 youth-led social projects across Ukraine. Working on the grant was doubly rewarding because I launched it in partnership with Seth; learning to work together on a professional level offered its own unique set of challenges and payoffs. The high demand for the grant led us to turn it into a foundation, which will hopefully continue funding promising Ukrainian nonprofits every year.
The final big professional step I took last year was returning to grad school. I applied and was accepted to a master's program in Marriage and Family Therapy, a subject that has fascinated me for years. I've wanted to continue my education for a while, but it never seemed like a good time. Now, given that I will not be returning to the formal workforce for a few years, I finally decided to go for it.
Which brings me to the reason I don't foresee a full-time job in my near future: baby #2, currently known as Munchie! After a full year of trying, I finally got pregnant in 2019, and now Lana is eagerly awaiting her little sister.
Ahead of Munchie's arrival, we've been fully enjoying life as a family of three with adventures near and far. We've been planning family adventures whenever we have a free weekend - exploring culture, food, and the outdoors both in NYC and small suburban towns in our area. Over the past year, we've discovered independent bookstores, cool playgrounds, hidden gem museums, yummy desserts, and much more.
We've also ventured further afield, visiting family in CT, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Baltimore for various holidays and milestones with our loved ones. Spending more time with family was a primary reason for moving back to the East Coast back in 2017 and we've certainly taken advantage of the proximity to so many relatives.
And, of course, it wouldn't be a year in the Manoff family without some travels. We started off the year with a couples getaway to Stratton - a throwback to our very first ski trip almost a decade ago. In February, we explored Charleston over a long weekend, this time with Lana in tow, and then Lana and I took a detour to Charlotte to visit our cousins.
Perhaps my favorite trip of the year was in May - Seth and I visited Copenhagen and Amsterdam, with a quick stopover in Hamburg. On this trip, we reached the pinnacle of food tourism, trying more many incredible meals than I thought possible. And of course, we took in plenty of European art and architecture - this time with a northern twist.
In June, I planned a 4-generation getaway to a beach house in Long Island, a rare opportunity to travel with my grandparents. My mom joined for part of the trip as well. Fortunately, our house was quite large - and all the extra travelers meant lots of help with Lana. It was a wonderfully relaxing week of wine tasting, al fresco dining, and relaxing on the beach.
In July, I drove to Canada by myself for a conference - my first solo trip in a while, and, to be frank, a really tough experience, mainly because I got really sick almost the minute I arrived. But I am so glad that I didn't shy away from the challenge. I used to be quite independent back in the day, and it was nice to recapture some of that solo strength and spirit, even though I still vastly prefer being with others.
Later in the summer, we tried yet another new kind of trip - sharing a house in Maine with another family. It was a bit more challenging than we expected, but we are really glad we tried traveling this way! Also, more beach time never hurt anyone and we made some more amazing culinary discoveries. (This was the last week before I discovered my pregnancy, so I enjoyed much wine and cocktails...enough to last me the end of the year, I guess!)
On the way back from Maine, we made a stopover in the Berkshires to visit a friend and check out the gorgeous scenery. We liked it so much that we immediately planned an adults-only return trip for the fall. Overcoming my morning sickness, we hiked, checked out historic homes, and enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of my friend and her husband.
And, of course, we rounded out the year with a super-indulgent holiday babymoon in Florida, splitting a week between St. Petersburg and Miami. It was a perfect vacation for a lazy pregnant person who wants to do some sightseeing but also relax on the beach.
Seth (gently) suggested that maybe we travel too much. He might be right, but I love it!
2019 was a big year for Lana as well. She learned to skate, which is now one of her biggest talents, started learning to read and write, and began attending full-day preschool (which meant that I had to adjust to nanny-less life for the first time in a while). She has also grown up so much, from a cute toddler to an incredibly mature little person, who continues to amaze us with her emotional intelligence, sweetness, creativity, hilarious 4-year-old logic, and a seemingly bottomless capacity for love. After seeing how wonderful Lana has turned out, I can't wait to discover what Manoff baby v2.0 will look like ;)
Finally, Seth made a huge decision this year that will have consequences for the whole family - he is leaving his job and taking a sabbatical. Since he has spent most of the past decade working extremely hard, I am so excited for him to get the break he deserves and spend some more time with Lana and me.
So, coming back to the main question - what was 2019 all about? I think it was a year of building - specifically, building our foundation for the decade ahead.
Since Seth and I have been together, nearly every year has been defined by a major life change: graduating college and getting engaged (2009), getting married (2010), grad school/new job/new city (2011), graduating grad school/new jobs/back to old city (2012), new jobs yet again (2013), moving cross-country and new job for me (2014), becoming parents (2015), becoming a published writer/blogger/entrepreneur/Ukranian nonprofit advisor and buying a house (2016), moving back to the East Coast and reshuffling my professional life once again after the startup I worked for went bust (2017).
By 2018, we finally seemed to be settled. No moves; no major job changes; no new family members. I took a breath and then immediately decided to use my newfound free time and energy to pursue my love of travel before I got caught up in life's demands and changes once more.
So, 2018 was the year of glamorous trips - Italy, Iceland, Costa Rica, Montreal. And having traveled my fill (well, almost!) I got down to the business of thinking about bigger questions and making plans. What goals did we want to pursue, both personal and shared, in the coming years? What did we want this next phase to look like?
Seth and I came up with many answers. We wanted to make memories with Lana and teach her to take full advantage of every wonder of this world. We wanted to start giving back through grassroots philanthropic work. We wanted another baby. I wanted to grow as a writer and nonprofit leader; he wanted to transition out of his long-time role in finance and switch careers.
And so, we dreamed and planned and built, trying new directions and improving existing aspects of our lives. No doubt, we failed in some of our experiments; but overall, as we start 2020, I feel proud of the foundation we laid in 2019. Many of last year's big decisions will start bearing fruit this year - my first semester of grad school, Seth's sabbatical, Munchie's arrival, the official launch of our foundation and so much more. Of course, you never know what the future will look like. But I'm super excited about everything we did last year to move toward for the future we want <3
Hi, my little blogger!
ReplyDeleteVery informative... like time travel. Keep it up and (gently) travel less. ;)
ReplyDelete