Looking back at 2021, the year felt more like an extended 2020. Even with COVID vaccinations, a marvel of science, being one of the biggest stories of the year around the globe, I didn't expect so many to remain willingly unvaccinated and for there to be well over 2x the number of deaths since this time last year in the US. I didn't expect a new variant to wreak havoc around the globe this holiday season. I don't think I'm alone in assuming we thought we'd be comfortably gathering and traveling to/with friends and family with minimal COVID concerns and day to day impacts. Every little COVID related decision we continue to make (and 2nd guess) on a daily basis remains draining and feels like a crapshoot at this point.
In our own world, we continued to toggle back and forth between treasuring the simple moments and working through the tough moments. We had lots of good moments to celebrate.
For Lily, being in school and the return of some theater allowed her the chance to make some really special new connections and make new friends. She fell in love with her first traditional sleep-away camp experience and is passionate about being on stage. She still plays quite a bit of tennis in groups but it's starting to conflict with her other interests. She would say the hardest part of the year was not having a phone like all her peers and dealing with her sister.
For Paul, playing tennis and baseball were his regular go-to's. Paul is motivated to improve and it shows. The opportunity to play competitive tennis is lacking in our area; it's mind blowing to me how difficult it is. Baseball, on the other hand, is an impressively well oiled machine. He made a competitive 10U baseball team and has a full schedule of training and tournaments set up through June. He even gets to go to Arizona with his team over Spring Break. His hardest challenges of 2021 were being social outside of school, not pissing off his Oma, and keeping calm and going with the flow in any situation not to his liking.
For Elise, starting karate, going to girl scout camp, having regular playdates with her neighbor besties, listening to audio books, and playing piano were where she found the most joy on a regular basis. Her biggest challenges of 2021 are still getting along with her sister, working through her anxieties, having to say goodbye to her neighbor bestie moving away, and now recovering from her 3rd foot surgery.
For me, what brought me joy so much in 2020 went away in 2021 - much fewer long podcast walks and walks with friends, early morning workouts/alone time, solo bike rides, reading books, and baking. A back injury kept me on the sidelines for 2 months, a full time job kept me occupied, and a time consuming joy-sucking volunteer gig really challenged me this year. I didn't do enough self care. My regular doses of joy were still found at the dinner table or on our mini adventures laughing with my family, watching my kids do what they're passionate about (except playing PS4 - no thanks), and on the tennis court.
For Nate, skiing with Paul and Lily, trail runs, mountain biking with Paul, playing more tennis, and going back to some live concerts again brought him joy. Nate's biggest challenges of the year were finding things to do as a whole family with no complaints from the peanut gallery. I know Nate would say also being challenged by keeping his cool when the kids are frustrating him. It's so hard to believe with how calm and level headed he is.
Music was played more in the car than in the house this year - hope that changes. Below are our 2021 playlists and snapshots from our December. I'm not going to wish for anything big to start off 2022. I'm just going to let it happen like any other day.
Elise after foot surgery at Shriners. Will post just on Elise's surgery/recovery another time.
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