2024 - Oh what a year!

2024 - Oh what a year! 

As we wind down 2024, I’d like to take the time to reflect on what a year we had! This is essentially my holiday card to YOU all (weird, you would think the stationery girl would send out all the cards…I’ve been slacking, but you are not allowed to slack, buy the cards;). 

Our 2024 started off pretty nice with a trip to our friends place in Costa Rica where we spent a week with them and another couple. It is a beautiful country and the relaxation was top notch! I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned this to anyone, but I was in the process of writing my book while in Costa Rica and we were going back and forth with edits. While in Costa Rica one of my main jobs was to come to a final decision on what my title of my book would be. So, as we would float in the pool, have some cocktails, and sit out visiting, we would all throw out ideas. I had something in mind with the word “chapters” but it seemed to not flow and no one was loving it. Finally the title “Chapters of a Resilient Heart” was thrown out there and everyone was like “yes, love it”, “oh, good one”, and so forth. 

In Costa Rica is where my book title was born. (now I’m thinking I should have included a disclaimer that sunshine, relaxation, friends, pool, and cocktails will IGNITE your ideas and dreams can be born). I’ll add that to the next book! 

We truly did have a wonderful year and we celebrated so many BIG things in our household. For me, this year was a dream and something I never thought would ever come. Not only talking about my book, but the happiness and the feeling of contentment for the first time in a while since losing all my people. It was a year of no hardships directly for me or my family and I’m grateful for that because I know that hardships will come again because we are not guaranteed an easy life. As I wrote in an article that will be published in 2025, I talked about building your ‘toolkit’ for grief. I’m thankful that I have this already built up and it will be available when I need it again. 

Angie: I published my first memoir “Chapters of a Resilient Heart” in June 2024. The biggest life accomplishment I’ve had so far. Not many people become authors and I am blessed that I had the support and foundation to do this. We celebrated the book with a ‘Thank You’ launch party in the beginning of June and it was my way of saying thank you to all who had supported me on this journey of writing and the journey of grief for the past 18 years. I continued building my online ‘greeting card business’. This was slower than I had hoped on the wholesale side of it, but I saw growth for the consumer side which is always good. I played a lot of golf this summer and received the nickname ‘Bomber Hanson’ LOL. I love being outdoors and playing golf is something I can do with my husband and friends, so that is a big bonus. Chantz & I picked up our first pickleball matches this Fall and we had a blast! We didn’t do the best at first, but once we started picking up on it, man we were doing great! Can’t wait for more pickleball! We of course watched a lot of Husker football and we finally made a bowl game! Woot-Woot! Our Husker volleyball team is the best in the country (in my eyes), but as I write this we did lose to Penn St. in the final four. We will never give up on our Husker volleyball team because a) they are awesome and b) we have the prettiest team too. Angie also took a course this Fall and I can proudly say I am now a Certified Grief Coach! This is something I am very proud of and I am honored to be able to walk beside other grieving people and guide them to a hopeful tomorrow. Stay tuned for what that will look like in 2025! My word of the year was “MOMENTUM” and I picked that word from my 2023 word which was “GROWTH”. So, I saw growth and I kept the momentum in 2024 and boy…it’s all coming to fruition in 2025! I haven’t settled my word for 2025 yet, but I am mentally searching for the words that are speaking to me that will feed into the growth & momentum of my life. 

Chantz: Chantz was able to soak up a lot of Costa Rican sun in the beginning of 2024 and he enjoyed our trip immensely. He sat next to Angie as she wrote a book and pushed her and promoted her goals. Chantz played a LOT of golf this year, A LOT! ;) I love that he gets to do this and that he enjoys it so much. He’s gearing up for a golf trip in 2025 with a bunch of guys that I know he will have a blast with. Chantz is also on an indoor golf league during the winter and he loves playing all the different courses around the world virtually. It’s great guy time for him because I’m pretty sure he gets tired of hearing about ‘me’ LOL! Chantz wanted to be part of something creative and started his own little business called “CoopDog Tees”. He has some awesome t-shirts that are geared towards the Grateful Dead Heads, Rock n Roll, Sports, and a lot of funny play on quotes. He also is in the trademarking process of completing his new line ‘GBMFR’ (go big mother f*ing red). When our daughter Graci was in college down in Alabama they had the line ‘RMFT’, so he found that it was not trademarked here for Nebraska. SO…born was the GBMFR hat which he offers four different colors. These have been a HUGE seller and we would take them down tailgating and sell out of them on the spot! Stay tuned for more clothing gear representing GBMFR in 2025! You can go to his website https:///www.coopdogtees.com Chantz is also still working for WinnNelson supply out of Lincoln and enjoys his co-workers and the shenanigans that goes on there. He definitely doesn’t love the drive to Lincoln everyday, but he’s content and growing within his sales job each month! 

Graci: Graci finished up her four year college career at the University of Alabama in May! WOW…all I can say is what a huge accomplishment this was for her and our family. Graci put in the work and she succeeded beyond measure. My family rented a van and we travelled the 14 hours to go watch her graduate. Most of them wanted to see where Graci lived the last four years and see the beautiful and amazing University campus. We rented a U-Haul and packed her up while there and we all drove her home after her graduation. Graci graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology. Graci & Mom took a Mediterranean cruise at the end of June for 10 days with her BFF from college Heather and her mom Gina. We had the BEST time and what a gift for both of those girls for graduating from college. It was great to have that girl time with Graci and memories were made and Spain and Italy are beautiful! Graci spent the end of summer finding a job and getting an offer in August for a company called Nuvasive (now Globus Medical). She is a part of their ‘Neurophysiology’ team and she monitors neurological functions during surgeries for back/neck/brain. She is currently still on the shadowing part, but will take an exam here at the end of the year to pass and be on her own. I’m not sure how she does it, but she is a strong girl. She is so very smart (I’m partial), but I know this job is very demanding and she is taking it in strides and learning the adulting world very quickly. She also moved out in October and got her very own first apartment, alone. She was ready to be on her own after having roomates for four years. She has the most adorable apartment and she is doing amazing. We are still working on the boyfriend aspect, so anyone? LOL…she will definitely yell at me for this, hahahaha. 

Emmy (the dog): Emmy turned 9 this year and she is still lazy, still loves snuggles, still loves to eat all the time, and she loves walks, car rides, and belly rubs. She tore her ACL in the Fall, but seems to be getting better each day. If you want to see her, just look at my socials I post pictures constantly of her sleeping LOL! 

To end our 2024 together, I want each of you to take a moment to reflect what 2024 meant to you, what you learned, what you let go, and what you gained. These can all be small simple things. In the rush of life, we honestly need to slow down and not try to do more than our minds can control. I’ve learned that more than anything this year that there is a lot I can and have let go. I feel more at peace ending this year than I have years past. Looking at our year you can see good things came, but hard things were always present. We are not allowed to be in the comparison game of where we should be or who we should be. Follow your souls intuition and deep dive into what it looks like and means for you. 

2025 will be a year of many changes and ups & downs. I know a few people going through the very ‘hard’ of it and it will get harder, but their wings will fly and grow as the year moves forward. Thank you for allowing my family into YOUR lives and we wish you an abundance of blessings, good health, and happiness. 

XOXOXO 

The Hanson’s and Graci