2018… what happened? It’s true what they say, every year flies by faster than the last. Or so it seems. This year was a pivotal one. Whit and I completed our Internal Medicine residencies and moved on to brighter horizons. I started working as a primary care provider and Whit began her geriatrics fellowship. The new jobs provide ample time for weekend trips and vacations, so our traveling amped up a few notches. Our first grand trip of the year was in March to Tanzania and Morocco. In Tanzania, we summited Mount Kilimanjaro at 19,341 feet. It was by far the most physically challenging thing I’ve ever accomplished.
From Tanzania, we flew to Morocco for an extensive tour of the country. We strolled through the souks of Fez and Marrakech, admired the Roman ruins of Volubilis, and rode camels through the Sahara. We toured ancient kasbahs, marveled at the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, and reenacted the Gladiator at Ait Benhaddou.
The second splendid trip was in June to the Grand Canyon where we rafted down the Colorado River for a week. We forwent showers for freezing river baths and spent the week forever seeking shade and waterfalls.
The last grand adventure of 2018 was our Baltic Sea Cruise in September. We flew over Norwegian fjords in Bergen and kayaked another fjord in Eidfjord. We eyed the colorful wooden buildings along the canals in Copenhagen and ate pierogis in Poland. We stood in the face of history at the Berlin wall and rambled along the medieval streets of Tallinn, Estonia. We saw the St. Petersburg Ballet, ate munkkis in Helsinki, and hung out at an ice bar in Stockholm. It was incredible.
We also had two important family events with my younger brother’s wedding and our nephew’s birth.
With more free weekends over the last six months, we earned our weekend warrior badges. We visited nine different states and three National Parks. This winter was my first winter Yellowstone National Park visit and the plentiful wildlife and fresh powder made the weekend perfect.
This year’s annual girls’ weekend was in Washington, D.C. We toured Smithsonian museums, attending a wine event at Mount Vernon, and explored the various national monuments.
We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Maui, where we drove the Road to Hana and snorkeled with sea turtles.
And in December, we had our Second Annual Haseman Christmas Celebration in Key West, Florida.
This year was our first time to Dinosaur National Monument, Goblin Valley State Park, and Flaming Gorge Reservoir. We also made a quick getaway to Los Angeles.
As always, we had fun snowshoeing around the Wasatch Range and in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
And we spent the summer and fall, hiking and camping in the Uintas and Wasatch Range.
2018 has been such an exciting year and I am so thankful for the opportunities and experiences that have come my way. As this year comes to a close, I will be focusing on the power of stillness and gratitude, beginning the turning in of the season and allowing myself a winter hibernation of sorts. Without the stillness, it is impossible to reflect on all of the good and grace.
