2023 Watson Year in Review

This year, we did our best to notice the beauty in each season, and to dance in awe of it.

Watson Family

2023 Year in Review

This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”
 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This year, as much as any year, we’ve found ourselves marking the passing of time.

We’ve marked it with family trips, and side missions. We’ve marked time with birthdays, holidays, holy days, and celebrations for no particular reason at all. We’ve marked time by the rising of the tides, ports of call, first downs, family milestones, and personal records set.

This year, we’ve tried our best to fill each season with those we love, and to fill our days with the things that make for joy and memories.

Winter

Bathroom Remodel
2023 marked our 10th year in Washington, D.C. making this the longest that we have lived anywhere as a family. It also marked our house’s 100th birthday and as it turns out 100-year-old houses sometimes have 100 year old problems. So we started the year with a bathroom remodel. Which was basically an excuse to get Lisa’s dad up to DC for a couple of weeks to help us turn our ancient water closet into a what feels like for us swanky spa with a shower so wide you can lay down and do snow angels in it and a soaking tub that allows us to swim laps.

But mostly, we’re just grateful for Grandpa Oto and his wisdom, kindness and the time he spent with us that made the winter less cold.

Cruise

In the coldest part of winter, we made our way south. We took a family cruise for the first time and had a blast. We soaked up all that the Bahamas had to offer, lounging on fabulous beaches, swimming in sparkling blue water, enjoyed the crazy entertainment on the boat, drank rum punch until we were sure we got our money’s worth.

And we laughed so, so much.

Spring

Lisa continued to lead Missio Alliance, a Christian organization that provides resources for the North American church to engage in the ministry demands of the 21st century in meaningful, holistic ways.

She spent a good bit of her time in the Spring writing and promoting the different books she’s contributed to over the past couple of years, as well as traveling the country speaking at conferences, retreats, seminars, and workshops. She does all this leading a diverse team that is located across the globe, but has as its home base the various rooms in our house that serve as Lisa’s ‘office’.

Summer

Summer is a wild and unruly season. Among all the seasons, summer seems to have the least rules and the greatest opportunities. 

At the beginning of summer, Matthew learned that there was an abandoned town in Texas, and that it was for sale for what seemed like a reasonable price.

So, on a spur of the moment, he bought a ticket and he and his brother Luke set out to see about buying a ghost town in the Guadalupe Mountains of south Texas. 

The trip ended with the two thrill seeking brothers spending the day with the wild-eyed German that owned the town and a community of desert-dwelling hippies. After looking over the town’s dusty motel, post office, and grocery store, and walking through the dilapidated houses, the brothers made their way back to civilization grateful for the journey.

Unfortunately (or fortunately if you ask Lisa), Matthew did not buy the place, and is not the owner of a ghost town. But…he is the owner of loads of crazy stories that came from the trip; stories better shared over camp fires and Coors rather than family recap videos.

Fall

The Autumn winds brought with it fresh starts. The kids all started school; Elias and Annelies continuing at BASIS charter school in downtown D.C. and Nate starting his senior year at Jackson-Reed High School.

Elias

Elias’ Fall was filled with his first season of varsity football where he started every game as a 10th grader playing wide receiver and cornerback for the mighty Paul Pirates. Elias is growing into a tremendous athlete and had an amazing time playing this year. He’s currently preparing for the indoor track season where he will be running the 55, 100, and 200 meter sprints and readying himself for next year’s football season. When Elias is not tearing up the gridiron and the track, he spends his days fishing the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers with his buddies. He’s become quite the fisherman and loves finding new spots of refuge in an otherwise concrete jungle of a city.

Annelies

Annelies surprised us all this year with her athletic pursuits. Despite never having played organized sports at all, she went out for her school’s co-ed flag football team and made it!

We watched her improve each game, and she was a defensive force on the field giving opposing quarterbacks fits with her speed and blitzes. After the season was over, she hung up the cleats and picked up the microphone, trying out for the school musical, Cinderella. She recently found out she was cast as Portia, one of the evil step sisters. We are looking forward to watching her prepare for the performance in early 2024. She is our creative spirit and is always up for learning new things, making masterpieces and sharing them with the world.

Nathan

In 2022, Nathan was the starting QB for his JV team and loved every minute of it. But, despite his athletic success, it 2023, he decided to go a different direction and took up photography and has absolutely thrived. He started a photography business and has quickly become a sought-after sports and lifestyle photographer throughout D.C.

Nathan graduates in May and has applied to over 14 colleges and universities and has been accepted to 6 so far and counting. He hopes to continue his career as a photographer. He’s not sure where he’ll go next, but whatever season is up ahead, we are sure Nathan will face it with his camera in hand, a thirst for adventure in his soul.

Peru Trip

Matthew & Lisa took a trip to Peru with some dear friends from church. While there, they partnered with an amazing organization – Paz y Esperanza or Peace and Hope. They met with a number of ministries and leaders that are caring for the poor and marginalized throughout Peru with a special emphasis on the disabled community. It was a deeply meaningful trip, and one that they hope to continue taking with others from their church.

Conclusion

We finished out 2023 sticking close to home, and celebrating holidays with family, and friends. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas our 100-year-old row house hosted over 100 folks; providing a place of rest, cheer and celebration even as we sought to savor each moment of the holidays; and every day.

The poet Mary Oliver once said that the way to live a meaningful life is to Pay Attention, Be in Awe, and Tell Somebody.

As the Watsons move into 2024, we hope to do just that. We want to notice the thousand ways that the world is alive with beauty, and life. We never want to become numb to the joy that is all around us, but instead dance in awe of it. And we want to tell others about it.

That seems to us a remarkable way to mark the seasons behind us, and run head-long and joyfully into the year ahead.

Dear friends, happiest of new years to you.

With great love.

The Watsons