Merry Christmas! As the month of December is nearing an end I sit here reflecting on another year nearly gone by. 2019 was not an easy year. It was filled with a lot of lows which could seem to reach equilibrium with the same amount of highs. After suffering from crippling anxiety, waves of depressive episodes, and what seemed like constant uphill battles with that pesky necessity that pays my bills, I finally can say that 2019 is ending on a higher note than it started. My biggest accomplishment this year been starting this passion project of ours - our little engine that could - duncan&robyn. I know recently d&r has taken a back seat and seem a bit distant to those who follow and support us, but I still believe that our mission can and will really make a small difference in the world. Moving headquarters merely months after we launched in 2019 created quite a lot of unnecessary dust, but as it all settles, I know that 2020 will be a year of growth and continued impact to those in need of extra tools for self-love in our communities.

On a personal note, my husband and I decided to spend the holidays alone this year, just us two. We, too, experienced some trials as we navigated past the safe harbor of newlywed life into the uncharted waters of the settled years. Reconnecting and resetting was at the top of our holiday wishlists and that has brought us across the pond to the UK. This morning before we started our journey home to Chicago I decided to go for a run in Hyde Park with the goal to run an out and back of only one mile. In the dense, cold London air without another soul to see (sans the unfriendly swans and geese I managed to disturb with my heavy breathing) I found myself approaching a behemoth dark silhouette rising from the foggy waters of the Round Pond. As I rounded the corners of the water’s edge I came face-to-face with the famous statue of Queen Victoria, looking across Hyde Park from her forever home. I had made it from my hotel in Grosvenor Square clear across Hyde Park to Kensington Palace. I stopped to take a moment to appreciate the symbolism of of having one of history’s most powerful female monarchs congratulate me at the end of a goal-well-crushed. This brought a smile to my face. In that moment I realized that I had just given myself the gift that I was so desperately needing this year: hope. Hope that no matter what next year brings, be it fear, despair, pain, or negativity, that I am enough. You are enough. We are enough.

So Merry Christmas, sweet friend. Thank you so much for your love and support in 2019 as we have embarked on this bumpy journey of bettering our corner of the world. I hope that today you take a moment to give yourself the gift of recognition for a job well done int 2019. I know 2020 will be our best year yet.

xx, CB

Merry Christmas from duncan&robyn!