2021 Year in Review

Written: December 31, 2021

My word of the year for 2021 was “grace” and it was definitely the year of grace. A lot of people had a chance to show grace when service levels everywhere were down because of staffing issues. I have been working to get a refund on a purchase that was shipped to my old address for over a month. And while I am not happy, I was surprised at how appreciative one of the workers was when I was kind about it. 

We were fortunate not to lose anyone close to us this year, but we know a lot of people who did. There were many people who suffered loss this year and even more people who dealt with sickness. With Hannah back in a school setting, we spent the last few months of the year passing around cold viruses, but we are thankful we did not get anything serious.

Our 2021 started out pretty hectic with searching for a house. The combo of searching for a house in an apartment we had only been in a few months, having extra time on my hands from working part-time and not having as much to do in the winter resulted in some major anxiety issues for me. I started getting dizzy some in February and thought I was having blood sugar issues because I had been eating so bad and not exercising, but everything physically was fine. It ended up being that my anxiety was causing me physical issues. I started eating a little better and walking on my treadmill. The combo of living a little healthier with being busy with moving helped. The combo of working less, living somewhere with less to do and less money to do as much gave me too much time to overanalyze things. I realized in 2021 that my pace is a little faster than I had been living and I need a balance of being busy and rest to be my healthiest. 

I am incredibly thankful we found our house in the seller’s housing market of 2021. We love our house and appreciate it so much more after living in an apartment for 6 months before moving in here. We have a great yard in a wonderful neighborhood. And thanks to a headache caused by an appraiser, we actually paid less for it then we planned. 

Another big change this year for us was Andy starting a new job. My super routine husband has started 3 jobs in 2 years, when he would much rather find a job and be comfortable in it. It was a rough time learning a completely different industry for a few months, but he is back to his rockstar work self after just a few months on the job. We met while working together years ago and worked together for years so I can say with confidence he is a rockstar at work. 

On top of a new house and a job change for Andy, we potty trained Hannah and she started pre-school this year. Hannah had been out of daycare about a year when she started school and we were not sure how she would adjust, but she absolutely loved it. She has been on winter break for two weeks now and is more than ready to go back. 

One of the best changes this year was getting back in the habit of going to church. I had not regularly attended church since I lived at home over a decade ago. I am grateful we found a great church. I also started a faith inspired book club that has been a wonderful addition to my faith life.

Overall, 2021 was a big growth year for us. There were some growing pains that went along with it. I had to give myself some grace for not writing as much. I still do not have my word for 2022 figured out. I had grace figured out as my 2021 word way before the end of 2020. So as 2022 starts, I’ll have to take what I learned about grace and keep applying it to my life. I hope everyone had a good 2021 and an even better 2022!