Life
Katherine Delaunay
Memories of Dan

I’ve kind of been avoiding writing this stuff down. On one hand, I want to always remember Dan and how amazing he was, but on the other, writing it down forces me to sit with it. To remember all the good things, the sad things, and the things I can’t do anything about any more. As vibrant as my memories of Dan are, as admirable his passion, dedication, and talent were, he is gone and the future will give me no new memories with him. 

Memories of Dan
Katherine Delaunay
Seeking Sustainable Change

We’re creeping up on 2 years since I broke my leg. It’s a little frightening to think about how much time has passed and how quickly it feels like it went by. Even though the bone was mended well enough for me to walk without crutches or a boot in about 4 months, the rest of the year felt lost to pain and physical therapy. The past two years have been a series of ups and downs, but they’ve helped me define and refocus on what makes me happy.

Life
Katherine Delaunay
Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

I’ve come to the moment that every pet owner avoids thinking about. I avoided it so hard that I developed a mythology in my head that my cat was some kind of vampire who would live forever because he always looked so damn young and healthy. But over the past month or so, my cat Midnight has been telling us that he’s ready to go. 

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
Katherine Delaunay
Reaching out
Katherine Delaunay
Kaizen

I really like the word "Kaizen". It is a Japanese word that means "Good Change" or "Change for the Better" and represents the idea of continuous change to improve all functions of an organization. It is a popular business philosophy that helps increase productivity using increased awareness and action informed by that awareness. The idea is that when changes (great or small) are made over time they can result in great improvements on productivity. While this is most often used as a business strategy, it's easy to apply this idea to one's personal life. It's been an helpful tool for me because I can easily become overwhelmed when I try to change too many things at once. This weekend, my Kaizen focus was cleaning and organizing my studio/office. 

Kaizen

Krav Maga

Reflection

February tends to be a pretty reflective time for me. Around this time, years ago, a series of events happened that made me realize I was not who I wanted to be and I started to make positive changes. It was my personal rock bottom. Looking back on how selfish yet completely timid I was makes me appreciate the things that brought me where I am now. I've been thinking about my past a lot recently and felt the need to acknowledge it somewhere. I don't like who I was, how I treated people or how I let myself be treated. I'm glad the cycle ended there and I learned from the experience. I feel fortunate that I've recently been given the opportunity to rebuild a friendship that was broken during that rough patch. It's helping me make peace with my past and realize that life is too short to hold grudges. A friendship is like any relationship in that it takes effort from both parties to value each other. Although it is a painful process that involves digging into ugly memories, this particular friendship feels worth it.

I'm beyond thankful for so many people in my life and all the opportunities I've encountered. Last year I was offered a promotion at work that pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone and got me to do things I didn't think I was capable of. Now I feel like I've grown into the role pretty darn well and am excited to continue doing so. The mentorship of my coworkers and instructors from college has been life changing.

Chris and I are getting close to our two year anniversary, which shocks me to think about how time has just flown by. He's been my best friend through everything and I can't imagine my life without him. With all the studying he's been doing for his up-coming exam, I'm grateful we live together or I would never see him. I love seeing his dedication in this process though, he's going to kick that actuarial exam's butt in March!

My main hobbies have brought me so much joy as well. Hooping and Krav Maga are getting me to feel more confident in myself, both physically and socially. I'm still such an introvert but these hobbies have such wonderful communities of people that I'm learning to get out of my shell a bit.

As stressed out as I have been over work, family and life in general, I have it pretty good. I'm grateful for it all, even the rough patches which just make the good things shine brighter.