Monthly Archives: January 2024

Proud and Sad — Mostly PROUD

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I got one of those Facebook memories yesterday morning. I almost scrolled by it — there was no picture to capture my attention — but then I glanced at the words.

11 years ago, I was worried (even sad) about Anna. It wasn’t fair that her life had been touched — sometimes torched — by what ALD had done to her brother. BUT I was so proud of her and how she approached her life. 

Although her life was different than most of her peers, she had a pile of extraordinary friends who surrounded her with love and fun and were all amazing to Jack. She was already an exceptional student and athlete. And, even at 12, Anna had an independent streak that presented itself often. If she had a goal, she would make it happen — when she wanted to make some extra money, she found herself babysitting work and even organized (with dear Caroline) a lacrosse camp for some younger kids in town. She was a kid who would paint her own room. I believe middle school were the “Tiffany Blue” years.

But Dan and I DID worry about Anna back them. We would discuss if she was feeling too much pressure to achieve. Was she feeling that she needed to do enough to make up for what Jack couldn’t do? We wondered if her motivation and good attitude would continue.

They did.

I am NOT a believer in “everything happens for a reason” or “Life only gives you what you can handle”. I’ve witnessed too much tragedy to believe that nature is fair or that there is some sort of master plan that makes sense.

What I do believe in is the internal power we all have. The power to make choices. The power to lean into uncomfortable feeling and find hope during dark times. AND – if you’re Anna – you have the power to look a disease that has harmed someone you love and instead of cursing it, work to be a person that helps put an end to it.

Anna is not sure what she will specialize in, and we are NOT pressuring her to work in the ALD space – although we do discuss it . . . often. No matter what she decides to focus on, she will be amazing. We are so proud of our girl. Sometimes we worry (even still get sad), but we are always proud.

Love, Proud. Momo

2024 — It’s complicated

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2023 was a year.

I can’t call it bad or good. There was loss — deep loss that I still can’t truly wrap my brain around (and just last week, we lost another beautiful human who was taken too soon). We’ve also had some other tough challenges, but I always try to focus on the positive and there were some glorious positives.

Anna started medical school at her top choice. The added benefit of having her return to the tri-state is a bonus that we all cherish. Jack enjoyed his new routine where he gets added time with his other mothers and their families. Dan is still in the crypto world and has been on an incredible health journey that has us all motivated to follow suite. My work has taken off and I’m grateful for being trusted to do the work that I’m doing. We also travelled – between the 4 of us NJ Torreys we had adventures in Block Island, Colorado, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, California, Seattle, Canada, Texas, Maine, and Florida.

As we rang in the new year, we cheered, but we also recognized that welcoming a new year is complicated. 

There’s plenty to worry about for 2024 – Our home always has concerns about health, and we have some friends and family struggling with their own list of concerns. Then there is the upcoming election, unrest around the world, and our planet showing signs of an unhealthy lifestyle.           

BUT there’s also a lot of potential beauty upcoming for 2024. My work will continue to grow, and I’m excited about adding more training (EMDR is on the calendar). Dan will continue to be our role model for health and wellness. Anna will learn even more about things that I will never be able to understand . . . or spell . . . or pronounce. JackO will charm more folks and laugh at more jokes. We have trips planned to Mexico, Austria and Croatia. AND our country could make some wonderful choices, tensions around the world could ease, wars may end. 

I choose to be hopeful.

As we welcome this new year, I hope that you are all ready for some new adventures, exciting challenges, quality time with people you love AND hoping you also choose to be hopeful.

HaPpY NeW yEaR!!!!

Love, Jess