2021 Going On 2022: Personal Reflections On A Past Year 

It’s a new year! While often a new year can feel like a fresh start, I’m finding that 2022 feels more like a run-on to the end of 2021. Maybe it’s the omicron wave or perhaps just the busyness of life continuing onward? It’s probably a mix of both! 

As mentioned in this previous blog post, I usually take a few minutes around the new year to reflect on goals from last year and make goals for the new year. In a change from this norm, I honestly haven’t done that yet for 2022. However, upon briefly reflecting on last year’s resolutions, I can safely say I failed in posting regularly to this blog. And for that I apologize to you. 

So what on earth have I been doing? 

Well, there were the holidays. American Thanksgiving happened toward the end of November and then there were the December holidays (I personally celebrate Christmas). I was especially grateful for being able to safely visit family this year for Thanksgiving. Christmas unfortunately was different due to omicron—and we were basically back to celebrating separately. 

Christmas 2021, however, was particularly exciting for me and my husband. This was for one special reason: announcing our first pregnancy! I happened to hit the twelve-week mark just before Christmas, so it was a perfect time. I will share my first trimester experience soon, but I will say for now that looking forward to finally making the announcement was super exciting! 

Feeling Grateful

That all being said, I started reflecting on the things that feel different from 2020–or at least the things I am grateful for being able to do in 2021. Maybe it was caused by the typical Thanksgiving question of “what are you thankful for?” I won’t start in on the convoluted history of that particular holiday, but I think the question is worth asking when things seem overwhelming. 

I am fortunate in the fact that I have a roof over my head, food to eat, and the ability to have some spare time for personal interests. That is unfortunately more than many people in the world have. 

I also have a wonderful, caring, and patient husband. We both have friends and family…and Zoom and FaceTime to stay connected while in quarantine. Clearly we have it easier than those in the flu pandemic a hundred years ago!

Yes we have cancelled exciting holiday plans, family gatherings, and our planned wedding celebration (read what we did instead here in this post), but really most people worldwide have given up those things…and more. 

Our one big 2021 event was our long-awaited small family celebration to mark our wedding after 1.5 years of marriage. Even though we had cancelled everything, we still wanted to mark our marriage with some small gathering and take some formal pictures. In the summer, during a local lull in COVID cases,  we managed to take our formal wedding pictures and have a small family dinner. I finally got to wear the beautiful wedding dress I purchased and my husband finally got to wear his suit! (The guy had to get a suit made for him because off-the-rack never fits him). We now have wedding pictures for an album. And even better, our families were able to, at least partially, gather to celebrate. Both of our immediate families were there, plus my husband’s local extended family. We even got to sneak in one of my bridesmaids and her partner! For safety, all of us were fully vaccinated and we enjoyed our dinner—a Chinese celebration dinner, which we had originally planned to do for our rehearsal dinner. This choice honored my husband’s family culture. 

Past this event, we were able to take a few short holidays in upstate New York, drive to the Midwest to clean out my childhood bedroom (read about that here), and see some relatives for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to get out of town and enjoy some different scenery for a mental health break. 

And now, a huge change is looming this year in the form of our first [human] baby. As much as we wanted and planned for this child, it still comes with trepidation. I honestly don’t deal well with change—at least I have nine months to consider this one! One thing is for sure: my husband and I will be forever changed. Parenthood is not a status you can turn off. No matter what happens, we will remain parents to a child—even when that child becomes an adult (although that adult will be his/her own independent person at that point!). 

We will muddle through as best we can. 

Despite this upcoming change, I do have to say I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be pregnant. I recognize that becoming pregnant is often not as easy as the old-fashioned abstinence-only sex education classes may have you believe. I recognize that many people, including friends, have suffered infertility and/or miscarriages. I understand only a small portion of what they go through based on one short month of confusion and sadness with my own body—I thought I had an early miscarriage (in all likelihood it was a polyp). In any case, I understand that news of another person’s pregnancy can be painful. 

So What’s My Point?

So I guess what I’m saying in this long rambling post is this: there’s always a bright side to everything. Life can be tough, COVID times may be lonely, but there’s always something going right. Even if it’s simply having food for dinner. 

What went well for you in 2021? Sit back, reflect, and if you wish to share feel free to leave a comment! 

~Lynn