Just like that, the holidays – and 2024 – are behind us, and a fresh new year brimming with possibilities has arrived.
My family closed out the year with some quiet time on the home front, enjoying our oldest son’s time back home after his successful first semester in college, and watching our youngest son revel in a bit of newfound independence after getting his driver’s license. The time really does fly by – I have no idea how the boys have gotten so old so fast!
With the new year comes some exciting changes at RFM. With Karen’s retirement from magazine-making after her fabulous fifteen-year run, I’m pleased to welcome RFM’s new managing editor to the team, Christine Winder. You may recognize Christine from her recent feature in RFM, or from her many articles in Richmond Magazine, Richmond Bride, The Everygirl, and Real Simple. She brings her talent, infectious energy, and warm and caring personality to the team, and we’re so lucky to have her on board.
It’s been fun to plan out the content for this issue with Christine and RFM’s talented writing team you know and love, and we have plenty in store for your reading pleasure. We’re focusing on health and wellness to start 2025 off on the right foot, with everything from heart healthy recipes from Brittany with Eating Bird Food (page 28) to a look at how the food we eat impacts our mental and physical health (page 48).
I know you recognize that beautiful mama on our cover – it’s our friend Candice Smith from NBC12! By the time you read this, she’ll be a mom of two and likely getting up at all hours of the night for a different reason than her usual call time at the station. We’ve known and loved Candice for years, and we’re excited to bring you Joan Tupponce’s behind-the-scenes look at her life in front of the camera, as well as her life off camera as a wife and mom, her favorite jobs of all (page 18).
To celebrate Heart Month, we’ll introduce you to a couple who tackled some serious heart health challenges at young ages and are now giving back in big ways. You’ll be inspired by Desiree and Brad’s story, and it might even motivate you to lace up and start a new fitness routine. Lia Tremblay’s chat with this couple with a lot of heart begins on page 58.
A topic that weighs on my mind a lot rounds out our features in this issue – loneliness. In late 2023, the surgeon general declared loneliness an epidemic, and that struck me as incredibly sad, but not at all surprising. Gone are the days of popping over to a neighbor’s house unannounced to “sit a spell.” These days, people rarely even pick up the phone just to catch up without any other reason, largely keeping communications to the confines of text messages, just about the least personal way to communicate on Earth. Paula Peters Chambers talks to mental health experts to get some advice on how to combat loneliness, beginning on page 34.
Don’t miss our big giveaways in this issue – a chance to win an overnight at a wellness retreat just outside of town. Plus, we kick off RFM’s Year of the Happy Home, with a chance to win a one-year membership for a personal assistant – wouldn’t that be amazing?!
Thanks so much for picking up this issue of RFM. When you’re done, why not share it with a friend or neighbor – it’s the ultimate form of recycling!
