This is 2022. It doesn’t feel completely unlike 2021 so far! However, I am grateful that the children have gone back to school this January.
It feels strange to think back over last year, as the time since the pandemic started all seems to be merging into one. I really have to think and work out when things happened!
2021. A year amid a pandemic that started with the kids at home learning remotely and living under restrictions.
When I think back to that time, it seems both a long time ago, and like it was last week, which is weird. I think we lived in that strange stage of this year for so long, having Groundhog Day over and over for weeks, that it feels like it’s left a mark on me.
It felt so much harder than when the kids were learning from home the previous summer, as the days were cold and dark, we were inside aside from walking Herbie and they worked separately from each other. We did at least have a few days of snow, which lifted spirits and was a welcome break from the norm.
It feels like the first quarter of the year was dominated by this lockdown and home schooling. We certainly got much busier after that and that’s where my 2021 highlights will begin.
In March we found out that Boo would be going to her first choice of school. We had hoped, but it was good to get the confirmation, something to celebrate.
She started there in September, and is settling in well. Leaving her primary school was a wrench for her as she loved it there, but she’s been happily adjusting to her new school, making lovely new friends and creating new routines.
At the start of the summer holidays we all came down with Covid 19, which was a blow as we had to cancel our holiday. I feel like once we were all well and out of isolation, we made up for lost time and we had a packed summer break, making the most of every day.
We loved visiting the Cotswolds, Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon, taking in so many sights, museums, shops, activities and parks.
Other great trips over the year that spring to mind, I took my girl to Friendsfest (she’s a HUGE Friends fan!), we all went to the beautiful Norfolk seaside for a couple of days, a trip to the Cat Cafe for my daughter, an Aston Villa stadium tour for my son, Boo and I loved SIX the musical, we were all absolutely enchanted by the Forbidden Forest Experience and we became annual passholders at Drayton Manor so we’ve had lots of fun days out there.
The highlight of 2021 was the newest addition to our family. We welcomed a niece last summer and we all adore her. The kids love being big cousins to her, as they’ve always been the little cousins, to my nephews, and the Husband and I are enjoying getting to know her. She’s my brother and sister-in-law’s first child and she is an absolute joy. Can you tell that I like her?! She is scrumptious!
Work-wise I have loved growing my memberships, YouTube channel, Etsy store, this blog and of course all things celebrating paper. Social media is a great place to connect with likeminded people, and my Twitter and Instagram feed are usually full of books, happy mail and of course, dachshunds! Our Bring Back Paper Facebook group has continued to grow over the year and we now have over 1600 members there, chatting all things papery every day, which is a pleasure to see.
I think that when you take the time to stop and look back, picking through the highlights, it makes it easy to spot what you’d like to do when you look forward.
I’m not one for resolutions, but I can see those things that I’d like to do more of this year.
Spending time with family and friends, planning in adventures to look forward to, getting out and about in the fresh air, all pretty simple things but the things that matter.
I like to have a few things booked into the diary to look forward to throughout the year, so we’ve started doing that, always with the caveat that it might get cancelled as we are used to that these days! I’m then hoping to find that balance between getting out and having fun, and then taking time to relax and unwind when we all need it too.
I have a few things that I’d like to try or do differently this year, but I’ll give those more thought and may well share another post about those.
Until then, bye bye 2021, let’s see what 2022 holds for us.