Christmas Letter 2021 — Mindy Hurd, Career Counselor & Budget Coach

My approach to Christmas cards is very sporadic each year. Some years it’s been a newsletter-style Christmas card, more years it’s been just sending a few cards to family members who are far away. Last year it involved hand-painted Christmas cards. I started making some cards again this year, but was really wanting to do something different. Hence, this blog post!

To my family and friends who are reading this, I hope you enjoy a little highlight of what 2021 has looked like for Kent and me (and Kora!).

Merry Christmas!

2021 started out with remembrance and celebration. We honored the life of my stepmom, Kathy, who passed away in December 2020. I’m glad we were able to gather with family and friends in Phoenix to celebrate her life. While we were still there, we also celebrated the marriage of my brother, Justin, to his wife, Stephanie. The mix of grief and joy is something I’ve come to appreciate over the years and learned to hold both of these emotions at the same time.

We enjoyed getting out for more trips this year after very limited travel in 2020. A few highlights were our annual winter trip to Estes Park, our second summer going to Pagosa Springs, a trip to connect with my family in Greer, AZ (which included a short flight in an 8-seater airplane!), and our first visit to Asheville, North Carolina. It was really exciting to go somewhere outside of Arizona and Colorado for the first time in a couple of years!

We spent a lot of time hiking this year both in the Boulder area and on our various trips. We’re hoping to return to it again, but had to pause since October when I discovered I have a meniscus root tear in my left knee. Surgery and rehab will be the start to my new year, but hopefully I’ll be back to hiking by summer 2022.

Visits from my family and spending time with Kent’s family is always a highlight each year. A membership to the Denver Botanic Gardens provided a fun destination with both of our families.

I continue to enjoy working in Career Services at CU Boulder, and made the return to a hybrid work schedule this past semester. I’m very thankful for work I enjoy and a great team of colleagues. My hobbies lately have continued with drawing and watercolor, and I began to dabble with baking again a bit this year.

Kent is still enjoying his work as a software engineer at MakeMusic. He was finally able to get back to some live music performance again starting this past summer, which has been really fun. A new wind quintet formed out of the pandemic and they held a few concerts this past summer and fall.

Kora has kept busy chasing critters of all sorts. Unfortunately that included a skunk a couple of times earlier this year! She loves getting out for her daily walks and clearing our yard of squirrels, bunnies, and whatever else tries to enter her domain.