I hope this note finds you happy and healthy as you live out the final days of 2023. Through all the highs and lows, I hope this past year was a good one, and here’s to a better 2024.

If I were to write one of those holiday letters and make it as honest as possible, here’s what I’d include.

In January, we were coming off the sudden death of my mother, who died after a very brief battle with acute myeloid leukemia. I spent most of the month going through her belongings that my dad brought over, deciding what I wanted to keep and what needed to go. Nothing makes you feel like a loser of a daughter than deciding you just don’t have room for 200 more Christmas ornaments or tossing some pieces of jewelry you know your mom loved wearing. Also, who needs multiple tops and pants in every color of the rainbow? My mom, that’s who — none of us knew how much clothing she owned until we went through her closet.

After the job of clearing out her things was done, I spent the rest of the year worrying about my lonely father.

In February and March we shoveled snow. No seriously, that’s all I can remember about those final two months of winter. By the end of March we had so much snow we were running out of places to put it.

The month of April came in with a boom — literally. Just as spring break started, we had thunder snow — the really heavy wet kind — and that’s when we heard the boom. That snow brought down trees and power lines and we were without power for about 20 hours. I kicked myself for not leaving on our spring break trip the day before as I originally planned.

In May we hosted a memorial for my mom. Several family members and friends traveled to pay their respects. To be honest, it was nice seeing everyone but it was also nice to finally have that day over with after dreading it for the few months leading up to it. Many of those family members haven’t talked to me since, which is par for the course when it comes to my family.

In June we rented an RV and headed out on the open road to the exciting state of … South Dakota. No really, the three of us and the dog had the best time visiting the Badlands and Mount Rushmore, but for the most part, driving across South Dakota is really windy and really boring. However, we enjoyed the RV life so much that we’re doing it again next summer, only to a different state.

July and August were hot. We always say we’re going to try to spend more summer evenings enjoying our great backyard, but there’s something about all those mosquitos and feeling like you’re sitting on the surface of the sun that makes you quickly retreat to the comforts of central air conditioning.

In September, once the temperatures were more pleasant, we started hosting friends and neighbors for backyard movie nights. There’s just something about watching movies like The Princess Bride and Goonies under the stars while eating popcorn and hearing kids laugh at the same movies we enjoyed when we were their age.

In October we took my son to Washington, D.C., for the first time. We had our photo taken in front of the Capitol and my son said, “That’s where all the clowns work.” We all had a good laugh.

November and December have been a whirlwind. Thanksgiving, getting ready for the holidays, trying to get it all done while also dealing with work and social obligations.

There were concerts, sporting events, the state fair, dinners and lunches out with friends. The year 2023 didn’t start out great but, for the most part, we made the most of it. And I suppose that’s how most years turn out.

Here’s to 2024, bring it on.

— Rachel Brougham is the former assistant editor of the Petoskey News-Review. You can email her at racheldbrougham@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Rachel Brougham: Our family’s realistic holiday card for 2023