A Look Back at 2023
- Emily E. Finke
- Dec 31, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
🌼 2023: A YEAR FOR ALL SEASONS 🌼
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 KJV
A Month-by-Month Look Back
January:
I eased into the new year taking a little vacation and spending time with family. After several months of struggling with health issues and a busy Christmas season, it was nice to get some much needed rest. Though my health was not good, I was in good spirits looking forward to the rest of the year and making plans. I hosted the first LIVESTREAM in The Community to celebrate the previous Christmas’ “Classic Christmas” series. Our first gig of the month with DOUBLE TROUBLE X2 (DTX2) brought together old friends and new fans for the band. What a great way to start the New Year!
February:
The year was already flying by and getting more exciting every day as I tried something I’d never done before. I entered my latest embroidery piece, “Joy Comes in the Morning,” at my county fair, and it earned a blue ribbon! For Valentine’s Day, Ashley and I shared music at a nursing home. Later on in the month, I further developed my process of recording my record collection for my video series “Adventures in Record Collecting (AiRC).” On the health front, I began getting treatments at a health clinic with great hopes of improvement.
March:
March was a busy month with DTX2 gigs, recording a St. Patrick’s Day cover video, and working for Cadillac at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Working as a brand ambassador and meeting people always brings great joy to my life. To add some more variation to the month, I wrote my favorite poem to date, and I won a drawing for lunch and tickets to the theatre which culminated in a lovely, ladies’ outing with people I love. The days were long with work and health treatments, but I was happy and grateful for opportunities to do the things I love.
April:
Probably the hardest month of the year mentally and physically due to my health affecting my voice, I tried to keep my focus on what I could do and not what I couldn’t. I was given an opportunity to sing on Good Friday during my community’s Holy Week services which was a great blessing, and Ashley and I held a small concert with our students at a local nursing home. DTX2 had a few gigs, and I took on the fun challenge of learning to play the bass guitar. With a sudden inspiration to create something with my hands, I spent the week before Easter constructing a papier maché Easter bonnet entirely from scratch and recording a music video of Irving Berlin’s “Easter Parade” which features said hat. It never ceases to amaze me how, in difficult times, God still fills life with unexpected joys! It was a hard month, each little endeavor was a balm to my soul, and I was looking forward to May with renewed spirit.
May:
With my health finally noticing some improvement, May was a month full of fun! For Mother’s Day, I recorded a music video of an original song I wrote as a gift for my mother. I also hosted the second LIVESTREAM of the year as a celebration of my AiRC video series. Summer was approaching quickly, and exciting plans were being made. However, the month was far from over, and Ashley and I held another concert with our students at a local nursing home as well as hosted Sister Violins Music Studio’s annual student recital. A new poem and an interview for an online magazine rounded out the month.
June:
Music, music, and more music, June was a month bursting with music! It began with another interview and the start of bi-weekly rehearsals with DTX2 in preparation for an upcoming project. I had been struck with the all-too-familiar Summer feeling and was bringing the joy of the season to my ears through my annual Summer playlist. With the official start of Summer toward the end of the month, I began my favorite video series in The Community to date, “Emily’s Summer of Classic Movie Music.” I was kept very busy arranging, covering, and recording some of my favorite songs from classic films. DTX2 was still performing lots of gigs, and to top things off, Sister Violins Music Studio hosted a week-long Summer camp for our students that was a smashing success!
July:
The month with my second favorite holiday brought lots of fun and lots of work. I recorded a cover video for Independence Day, and DTX2 played at a private party on the holiday… a gig that seems to be becoming a tradition. Starting just a couple of days later and for the following 4 days, DTX2 worked tirelessly to record their debut album produced by yours truly. It was a very long week, but it was exceedingly rewarding and filled with memories not soon to be forgotten. A girls’ day out to meet an old friend for lunch was a welcome change of pace. Then, after a busy month, it was time for a trip to visit family.
August:
The weather in New York in Pennsylvania was a welcome change from Florida. I was feeling more myself than I had in a while. My voice was returning to normal, and I was grateful to be done with most of my health treatments. It felt good to be able to celebrate my grandparent’s wedding anniversary with all the family and enjoy the beautiful Summer scenery on our travels. “Emily’s Summer of Classic Movie Music” was still going strong in The Community. Upon returning home, it was nose to the grindstone once again as I got busy prepping the DTX2 album for release.
September:
With the end of Summer, “Emily’s Summer of Classic Movie Music” came to a close with a grand finale LIVESTREAM in The Community. DTX2 was still gigging strong, and Sister Violins contributed ambient music for a local business’ fifteenth anniversary party. Plans were already being made for the upcoming holidays, but as the month came to a close, my health started to decline again.
October:
The beginning of three months of craziness, October was a blur of ongoing and ever increasing work on the DTX2 album release. Amidst the busyness, I hit a short period of intense creativity. I immersed myself completely in the blinding but comforting fog of inspiration and began work on a project with which I have truly and completely fallen in love. (It’s a big project that must remain secret until completed, but I hope 2024 is the year I can share it with you.) While my mind wandered amidst the dreamland of creativity, Sister Violins had the honor of performing at a private party for an esteemed artist. There was still much work to be done for the album release: an album cover photoshoot, release party planning, distribution and legal work, CD artwork to design, press releases to write, and so much more lingered on my checklist as the imminent release date approached. Announcements were made which included the official launch of my record label, Ashes and Embers Records (AER), and the album release and release party dates were set. It was almost time!
November:
I do not remember much from the beginning of this month as I lived, breathed, and slept DTX2 work. I was excited and relieved that the release date was almost upon us, but my health had continued to worsen over the past month making work more and more of a struggle. A very short break to spend time with family for a belated birthday celebration provided a bit of respite. With perseverance and the grace of God, I pressed on to the goal, and the album release and release party were wonderful successes! What a thrill it was to finally share this long awaited and worked on project with our friends and fans. Never time to linger, it was then on to a Thanksgiving holiday to rest and recuperate from many months of long, hard work. Family time around a campfire on chilly and crisp Autumn nights felt like heaven. What a perfect setting for a holiday of giving thanks. As the month neared a close, my hopes renewed at the possibility of improving my health as I began a new program.
December:
Somehow the slowest and fastest month of the year simultaneously, December was full of many ups and downs. Plagued by a sudden illness, I took some time off to recover only to be called to the aid of my dog who also developed a sudden illness. A long, three day trip out of town for her to see a doctor and I was once again back home to rest. As the days muddled together and symptoms lingered on, nothing could deprive me of the joy of the season as we decorated, watched our favorite Christmas movies, and I began “Emily’s An AiRC Christmas” video series in The Community. Sharing some of my favorite Christmas records from my collection with my friends was a joyous time! A few DTX2 gigs here, a few Sister Violins performances there, the Sister Violins Music Studio’s annual student Christmas recital somewhere in-between, and the month began to fly by. I hit milestones on Spotify, wrote a Winter poem, and chugged along on my health program. Before I knew it, Christmas day had arrived, and the family relaxed in our cozy home alight with Christmas decorations. As New Year approaches, some time away with family makes the perfect, full-circle ending to the year.
In many ways, every year is the same - the usual cliché of “ups and downs” will always apply. In that way, 2023 has been no different than any other year. There have been many lows and many struggles. Yet, as the year comes to a close, those memories grow distant and fade. As I rewind the year in my mind, I see so many smiles, so much love, so many beautiful and wonderful times. It has definitely been a year for all seasons, but in each of them, there has never been an absence of the things that truly make life worth living: God and family. The good times will come and go, the bad times may stick around longer than we like, but God and family are the constants that keep me steady on this roller coaster of life. It’s been a year full of music, of dreams, of struggles and hardship, of growth and renewal, and I thank God for every minute of it. Though 2023 has been a year of many things, most importantly it has been a year of faith. Faith has brought me through this year, strengthened by the trials and made new in the blessings. It is that faith that leads me into 2024 with hope and peace.
I’m not much of one for resolutions, and my goals aren’t always God’s plans, but no words can describe how excited I am for 2024! I have projects that I adore waiting for me just around the corner. For the first time in a long time, I am filled with true and growing optimism as I work to improve my health. There are songs to write, recordings to make, stories to write, performances to give, friends to talk to, trips to take, family to love, and joy to share. Things are growing, things are working, things are moving. If 2023 was the year for sowing seeds, here’s to hoping 2024 is when they bloom! Every year, God amazes me more and more with His mercy, strength, and love. His is the perfect plan, and I am always so excited to see what adventure He has in store next.
My friends, it is time to say goodbye to another year. It is time to store away old memories and get ready to make new ones. It’s time to welcome a new year with new possibilities. Wherever this new year takes us, I am so grateful we had 2023 to spend together! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being with me on this incredible adventure called life. May your new year be filled with unspeakable blessings and the unfailing richness of God’s goodness and love. Keep on smiling, my friends, and I’ll catch you in 2024. Cheers!!
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 KJV
A year of all season 2023, extraordinary ways that you were able to describe it! You're very mature and balance always keeping your focus on the ways God's are directing your life.
We have been praying for your health, for those treatments to become effective!
You have given us a beautiful modeling of a Christian's way to live!