2024 Year in Review
Highlights and areas to improve from a wild trip around the sun
Am I newly motivated with a “new year, new me” blog post? Possibly. Either way, I thought I’d reflect on the chaotic year that was 2024 and document some of my favourite moments, achievements and takeaways; while also reflecting on what I’d like to do better in 2025.
Highlights
Hosting: our little NYC apartment welcomed tons of visitors in 2024, with both friends and family willing to cram into a small space. Dan, Steve, and Finn kicked the year off right with the first of their three visits during my birthday in January. We had Chad and Stacey bunk with us for an action-packed Memorial Day Weekend in the city, and Tim and Kate took the air mattress for their annual visit in November. Kaveri also made an epic appearance from Boston to surprise Lynn for her birthday; and Lynn’s parents stayed with us for just over two weeks during the US Open, which is always a treat. Matt Sacks, Nora, Nik and Erin, Carlee, and several other visitors came through NYC to say hi, even if they didn’t stay in our Upper West Side abode.
Fitness: I had a pretty good year in my running shoes in 2024, logging 1,020 miles. For the first time, I completed an ultra marathon with the HAT 50km run in Maryland, completed the NYC marathon for the second year in a row, and ran my third installment of the 4x4x48 challenge. I also ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in Washington, DC for the first time with a bunch of friends; that was super fun to make a weekend out of.
Sports: Another great year in the books where I was able to witness some amazing live sporting events. When Nik and Erin visited in November, we attended the NY Jets game in beautiful fall weather. The same week, we got our usual crew together at Madison Square Garden to watch the Winnipeg Jets beat up on the NY Rangers. Me and my parents took Finn to watch the Coachella Firebirds play hockey in the desert. Dave and I bought last minute tickets to support Team Canada in the Copa America Tournament and got to see Messi play live in the process. Baseball-wise, Chad and Stacey’s visit called for an impromptu trip to Citi Field to watch the Mets play on a lovely Saturday afternoon; separately, I hadn’t stepped foot inside Fenway Park for years, but got to see the Red Sox play in that magical stadium during a work meeting in August. We attended the US Open (Tennis) once again in Queens, this year Lynn even scored tickets for us to the men’s semi-final! Finally, to cap off the year with our European adventure, I got to join my British uncle and cousins to see Arsenal win at Emirates Stadium just after Christmas.
Trips: The boys golf trip was alive and well, bringing 7 of my best friends together for a week in Palm Springs, which I tacked onto some fun family time in the desert. Summer included a couple lovely vacations: we traveled to Cap d’Agde in France to relax and hang with Lynn’s parents before driving to Barcelona for two days in an amazing city that I’d never experienced. I joined my sister’s family at Nora’s cabin outside Toronto to properly celebrate Canada Day! I got to experience my annual Winnipeg trip at home in August which is always a perfect mix of family, friends, golf, and chill. Scottsdale in October with Ryan and Andrea was also a major 2024 highlight - we had so many laughs along with great drinks, food, and accommodations. Finished the year visiting Luxembourg for the first time ever to see where Lynn grew up, then flew over to London and Lewes, UK on the way home to explore pubs, watch Arsenal, and enjoy the English countryside.
Work: I ended up having a pretty good 2024. I was promoted in the summer, grew my team, and they ended up achieving most of their aggressive goals, so no real complaints. Work travel was non-stop this year, but I continued to enjoy jumping on planes to Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Louisville, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, and probably a bunch of others I’m forgetting. I’m excited to celebrate some of the achievements at our upcoming team retreat/offsite in Miami.
Room for Growth
Looking back on the year, I’m grateful that I was able to experience this highlight reel of trips, places, and events with the people I love the most, but there’s always room for improvement, and a few areas come to mind.
Fitness: Running is easy for me - I can always force myself to get out the door for a couple miles, and it’s become a very good habit. However, I’m not getting any younger and I know how important it is to try and maintain muscle mass as you age, so I’d like to incorporate more resistance training, body-weight exercises, and mobility into my routine.
Writing: I compiled three pathetic blogs in 2024, and it shows - I’m less comfortable typing this, and the quality is lacking. I’m going to improve upon that cadence with shorter posts, quicker updates, more hot takes, and get back to using this “newsletter” as a journal to look back on in the future.
Me: There’s a lot of “I did this” and “we did that” in the highlights section above. That’s okay to some extent, but I want to put more time, energy, and money towards helping others. Whether it’s people in my New York community, helping with charities, or just offering a hand to friends and family more often, I’m not exactly sure. But being of service is really the name of the game, and I can do better there.
Family: I only saw my parents twice this year, that’s not cool. I’m going to do a better job of tacking on to work flights to go to either California or Winnipeg, depending on the time of year. If I’m already traveling, it’s easy to add on a weekend here or there - it doesn’t have to be a long trip. Finn is also changing by the day, and while we have a great uncle/nephew friendship, I can always increase the frequency at which we get to hang out. Time with family is all that matters.
Either way, I’m proud of 2024 and look forward to a productive, fun, friend and family-filled 2025. Hope you all have a healthy and happy year ahead!
Thanks for reading,
Mike