A Year In Review = A Work-In-Progress

Shadowboxing 2024 On Boxing Day

While we may not celebrate Boxing Day in the US, we do have our own variations on the theme. For many, it’s the day to “box” up the Christmas decorations. For others, it’s a day to “box” their way to the front of the line at after-Christmas sales, hunting down that perfect deal or one last gift.

For me, Boxing Day is more about looking back... and looking forward.

Like so many of my nears, dears, and queers, 2024 has been a year of changes—both seismic and slight. Some I expected, some I didn’t, and others still feel like they’re in mid-swing. So I’ll be doing some end-of-the-year shadowboxing.

Now that St. Nick has finished his trip around the world and is back at the North Pole, I can start unpacking the past year. It's time to reflect on the good, the bad, and the kinda ugh-ly moments that have I wanna remember…and forget. You know the ones—the moments that make you pause and think, "What was that about?" But hey, every year is a new opportunity to grow in love and light, right?

So, as I start piecing together the month-by-month list of what happened in my world—both the tragedies and the triumphs—I can’t help but feel that 2024 has been less about clear victories and more about shadowboxing with myself.

It’s been a year of challenging old patterns, people, and platforms; figuring out a new way to create and curate; focusing on community and creativity; and stumbling (and fumbling) my way into ecstasy.

The truth is, it’s been a messy year for me. And that’s okay.

I’ve learned that growth happens—for me—in fits and starts. Sometimes my favorite moments happened during the quiet pauses or during the uncomfortable spaces when I grapple with how my own high expectations aren’t always the most realistic.

I don’t know about you, but I’m just a squirrely guy trying to get a nut in this world…without losing all my marbles in the process.

If you’re interested—or just curious—check the blog later for a deeper dive into the specific moments that made 2024… well, 2024.

I’m working on a blow-by-blow, month-by-month recap, some work-in-progress previews, and a few “roadmap” plans for the coming year.

Here’s to reflection, growth, and, yes, a little shadowboxing.

Thanks for reading!
Clint

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ON THIS DAY = DECEMBER 26

BIRTHDAYS

• 1863 = Charles Pathé = French producer and Pathé Records co-founder

• 1891 = Henry Miller = American author and painter

• 1892 = Don Barclay = American actor and illustrator

• 1921 = Steve Allen = American actor, singer, talk show host, and screenwriter

• 1928 = Martin Cooper = American engineer and mobile phone inventor

• 1933 = Caroll Spinney = American puppeteer and voice actor

• 1939 = Phil Spector = American singer-songwriter and producer

• 1956 = David Sedaris = American comedian, author, and radio host 🌈

• 1963 = Lars Ulrich = Danish-American drummer, songwriter, and producer

• 1968 = Matt Zoller Seitz = American film critic and author

• 1970 = James Mercer = American singer-songwriter

• 1971 = Jared Leto = American actor and musician

• 1979 = Chris Daughtry = American singer-songwriter

• 1986 = Kit Harington = English actor

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• Boxing Day (Commonwealth)

• Wren Day (Ireland)

EVENTS

• 1723 = Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40, his first Christmas Cantata.

• 1799 = Henry Lee III's eulogy to George Washington declares him as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

• 1871 = Thespis, the first Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, premieres.

• 1900 = A relief crew arrives at the Flannan Isles Lighthouse in Scotland and discoveres that the previous crew had disappeared.

• 1919 = Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee, allegedly establishing the Curse of the Bambino superstition.

• 1940 = The Philadelphia Story is released in theaters.

• 1963 = The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" are released in the United States, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level.

• 1966 = The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach.

• 1973 = The Exorcist is released in theaters.

• 1980 = Witnesses report the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, an incident called "Britain's Roswell."

• 1991 = The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union, ending the Cold War.

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PHOTO + QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It's odd the things that people remember. Parents will arrange a birthday party, certain it will stick in your mind forever. You'll have a nice time, then two years later you'll be like, 'There was a pony there? Really? And a clown with one leg?'“
David Sedaris

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