Kiya
Kiya remains a stay-at-home-mama, which she still believes is her hardest job yet. Other jobs she took on over the year:
Once a nurse, always a nurse: multiple illnesses and 2 pediatric hospitalizations and a case of shingles kept her busy advocating and caring for herself and her children, passing meds, cleaning up bodily fluids, wound care, and lots of playtime with Justin’s vintage doctors’ kit. Our local pharmacy will not be going out of business as long as we live in the neighborhood.
Private investigator: after 3 years of research and persistence, we are finally making headway into the mysterious causes for Noelle’s recurrent oral ulcers and frequent illness. (Stay tuned for the 2025 update where we hopefully have some actual answers).
Housecleaner: Jk. Who has time to clean house?
Party planner and hostess with the mostest: She hosted 2 really sweet baby showers, 3 birthday parties, and was consulted to help brainstorm decor for a church member’s daughter’s Sweet 16.
MomCo Co-coordinator: She continues to serve as a co-leader for her Mom’s group and is really enjoying the biweekly meetings, adult socialization opportunities, and the new friendships being forged there. She also had the privilege of speaking to the group about the benefits of family travel and was able to provide lots of travel tips for the upcoming holiday season.
House manager: At any one time she has several miles-long to-do lists, and no fewer than 50 tabs open in her brain. She sure knows her way around Costco, though.
Maybe her most exciting job over the past year has been that of entrepreneur, content creator, and travel coach. In June, she and Justin opened LuckyBucky, LLC, a family travel coaching business that helps burned-out parents design meaningful and purposeful travel experiences for solo, couples, and family travel as a means of prioritizing connection over distraction, mental wellness over anguish, and reigniting a fire in place of burnout. (Yes, that’s part of her pitch… how did it land)? 😂
On the subject of travel, she really enjoyed the family trip to the UK, where she reunited with her childhood penpal, as well as a long-awaited trip to Savannah that reminded her of her solo traveling days! She took the kids on a beach trip to Rodanthe in the Outer Banks with a former neighbor and her kids, to Connecticut to visit family, and a special Christmastime trip to NYC where Noelle’s Nonni was able to join.
After a long hiatus, Kiya has been fortunate in the last few years to pursue music again. She is still enjoying singing in her church worship band and is elated that Noelle seems to share her passion for music.
In her free time, she enjoyed… oh yeah, there wasn’t any free time. In fact, Kiya started writing this Year in Review 11 months ago so it would be ready in time.
