Welp. 2021 has come to a close. As much as everyone wanted to celebrate the end of a sucky year in big fashion, it went out with more of a whimper. Almost everyone I know had COVID over the break, so we spent Christmas through New Year’s Eve with just the four of us. It’s fine, we’re all fine.
This is a great list. I'm intrigued to find out more on your decision to move apartments (cue popcorn gif eating gif).
I hadn't actually thought to take stock of last year but for us 2021 felt more bleak than truly sucky, 2020 too to be honest, because 2019 was such a truly terrible year that even a pandemic was a bit par for the course, and yes, I do realise that sounds ridiculous. I have been in survival mode for so long that I stopped expecting joy and stopped creating sparkle, when life used to be so very ordinary but glimmering with happiness under every surface.
After two and a half years where it felt like we could not catch a break unless it was breaking point, we took advantage of a small travel easy window in October 2021 to get out the country (London based) and head to Greece and I felt like me and the kids rested and found each other really properly for the first time in 2 years. We used to be a family of five who travelled a lot, we became a family of four who committed to continuing a legacy of making memories adventuring in new places, and not being able to do that for so long felt like we lost another part of who we were as a family, on top of the person I'd made that family with in the first place.
So being able to travel, and feel international sun, and get away, and see the kids enjoying adventure, and experiences, and each other again, and dare I say glimpse sparkle, was a stand out highlight for me. For a few days, we remembered what it felt like..... my 11 year old said "I forgot what it feels like to be this happy" and that's extremely huge. Not saying it solved anything, but it reminded us all, and we need that sometimes.
Plus my just turned 8 year old stopped talking about wishing he was dead - which I know sounds like a bummer - but he's doing so well that he and his counsellor agreed he can just do drop in visits when he feels he needs to, and for a kid who has lost so much of what he thought was stable in this world at such a young age, I'm super thankful that 2021 saw him take such big steps towards a better place.
I am so sorry you have been having such a rough few years. I can't imagine what it would feel like to lose your partner right and then navigate the pandemic on top of that. And it must have been awful to hear how much your kids were struggling. But you must have shown them incredible strength and stability on your own for your 8yo to turn around like that. That's wonderful to hear. I am glad you guys felt happiness again in Greece. That says you can continue to find it. My best wishes to you and your kids in 2022.
What a fun list! It’s so fun to read your long-form writing.
I got to move roles within my company in 2021, from one where I was doing well (but was stressed out and not seeing long term happiness) to one where I am thriving, having moved towards my strengths and into something that really could be my long term career. I’m still amazed at this opportunity.
Thanks, Ilana! I remembered again how great this switch was for me when it was “normal” stressful getting back in the swing of work this week instead of “oh my gosh I don’t know how much longer I can do this” stressful.
Something good that happened in 2021…we had a baby girl! After dealing with miscarriages, the IVF process and gestational diabetes, I could not feel more fortunate to finally have my adorable and healthy bebe :-)
My older son went back to his sophomore year of college in Fall 2021 and got to have all his classes in a classroom with a live professor at the head of the class. After a freshman year all online in his dorm, that was such a good change! And he got to attend football and basketball games for the first time! He is thriving in college and his getting a taste of the actual college experience made me so happy for him.
My younger son is in his senior year of high school. He was accepted into his first-choice school and major for college. And earned a scholarship! He is so very excited and it makes me so happy for him!
My husband made the decision to leave his job after 18 years and start his own company. He works in restaurants and food services, so the past two years have been nothing but stressful and hard. But it's *his* stressful and hard now, his decisions and they are actually doing really well.
My favorite moment for me was getting to travel across the country and spend time with our families that we hadn't seen since 2019! I met my niece for the first time. I got to see my mom!! That was what made me so, so very happy!
2021 was mostly good - new job (and left the old one that I was at for 7+ years), vaccinations and boosters, a little bit more freedom than 2020 afforded, and we stayed healthy. I have hope for 2022, in spite of where we ended 2021. I (and we as a family) have been through much worse than is going on right now. I think it is great that you are staying in NYC - I love it there, almost as much as I love living in California! :)
2021 was great because my husband and I plus our young kids were all able to get vaccinated!! Thinking back to spring 2020 that did NOT seem like a near possibility. Also, my parents who live 1,000 miles away were still able to visit multiple times including for 5 weeks this past summer - never taking the ability to see family for granted again.
What a great recap! I find sometimes that when I look back like this I’m able to find good even though a lot of the year felt like a big grind for me. (I work in healthcare- enough said). Good things for us were- my kids visited my mom in Michigan this summer for 2 weeks by themselves and then I joined them for a third week. They had such a good time there and were able to spend so much quality time with my mom, as well as my sister and her family (my kids love their little cousins). The pandemic has made traveling and family time so difficult to come by since they live out of state and I’m so appreciative of the times we’ve had together. My whole family was also together for the first time in a year when my brother got married in South Carolina in September!
Also, so grateful we are all vaccinated. That was a huge high point for me in 2021.
Yes, we definitely have a new appreciation for family. That's great that your kids got all that quality time with your mom and cousins. We visited my stepbrother and his kids for the first time in Maryland and they started coming to our house for a week over the summer. They've done it the past two summers now and I think it will become a tradition. My kids are so much closer with his kids now! It's wonderful.
This post made me so happy! I have bern reading your blog for 11 years since I was pregnant with my first son. Reading this made me realize how connected I feel to you. Thank you for sharing your journey. In 2021 I started meditating regularly and really appreciated what I love about teaching (seeing kids in person and field trips).
Thank you for sticking with me this long! One thing I love about Apparently is seeing the names in the comments. Many of them are names I recognize from way back in 2010.
I so enjoyed this issue of Apparently. Everyday there are news stories that points out all the bad in the world with a few good things thrown in at the end to make you feel bette; that is why "news" exists. It is so refreshing to read that there is good coming out of the bad. While Covid and all the surrounding problems related to it have been horrible, there has been a lot of good during the last couple of years. To see you write about the good in your life has been uplifting. Thank you.
Yeah that is how I feel as well. If I see one more article from the NY Times about how badly parents are suffering, I am going to lose my mind. I mean, it's true. And most of them are suffering way worse than me. But I feel like they publish a new one every day!
We took advantage of a job opportunity my husband had and moved from Chicago to Salt Lake City. We decided we were sick of cold winters and high taxes, and moved to a place we love, instead of staying in our comfort zone, and to be near my husbands sisters family so my daughter has cousins in her covid bubble. So far, it all seems to be worth it. The pandemic showed me you can’t just keep doing what’s easy, and it was time to take a risk and make some changes. If I can’t travel as much, I am happy to be somewhere with lots of new local adventures! Although I’m still waiting to take a trip to nyc that I had planned for March 2020. 😒
This is very true. I feel like a lot of us are taking more risks because we realize we have to make the most of RIGHT NOW because there might not be a tomorrow. I'm also realizing that comfort can trap you which is one reason we have been in our place for so long!
Thanks for this post, what wonderful writing which resonated with me in so many ways. My whole family is in the UK, and I entered 2021 having not seen anyone for a year for the first time since I emigrated 13 years ago.
In June, just before the July spike, we managed to get to the UK to visit my family. We took 6,000 COVID tests, we quarantined for 7 days, we only saw a fraction of all the people I would usually see....but oh it was worth it! My parents came here for thanksgiving, and I am so grateful because we ended up canceling our trip to the UK for Christmas. Like you said, I am glad we saw them when we could because you never know when these things are going to turn!
And we spent Christmas alone as our family of 4 for the first time. It was weird, but also nice. Instead of a day filled being busy and noisy, we were quiet and lazy, which was ok! We planned a trip to NYC to replace the UK trip between Christmas and New Year, but then NYC started looking crazy so we pivoted again and ended up driving to Joshua Tree, which was truly magical and somewhere we probably would not have gone otherwise. As you said, we have had the chance to appreciate the US more.
Who knows where 2022 will take us, but I am forever grateful for the resilience of kids....they adapt to every change like troopers and I really don't think they are going to have traumatic memories of the pandemic...my mission is to ensure that this remains true.
I wanted to add in, for those who need a break from the weight of all the news (I rarely watch anything anymore), Goodnews Movement on Instagram is an amazing account! Most of Hoda’s Morning Boost on the Today Show come from this account, so I’ve usually already seen the story when Hoda talks about it, plus more.
Thank you for sharing this with us. The last two years have been…a lot. It’s easy to get sucked into the “welp” of it all. I’m so happy you were able to see the good in it too. You and your family add so much joy to this corner of the internet and the community you have built over the years is amazing. I feel honored to be a part of it!
I’m so glad you decided to post this instead of your first story. The last two years have been so hard, and I constantly feel the negative wanting to bring us all down. But you took the hard road and instead decided to be grateful for the opportunities you were given. I’m so glad I get to be a part of this community you’ve built. It’s real people with real lives and problems. And you’re family and your stories bring us joy❤️ Thank you for all you share with us!
This is a great list. I'm intrigued to find out more on your decision to move apartments (cue popcorn gif eating gif).
I hadn't actually thought to take stock of last year but for us 2021 felt more bleak than truly sucky, 2020 too to be honest, because 2019 was such a truly terrible year that even a pandemic was a bit par for the course, and yes, I do realise that sounds ridiculous. I have been in survival mode for so long that I stopped expecting joy and stopped creating sparkle, when life used to be so very ordinary but glimmering with happiness under every surface.
After two and a half years where it felt like we could not catch a break unless it was breaking point, we took advantage of a small travel easy window in October 2021 to get out the country (London based) and head to Greece and I felt like me and the kids rested and found each other really properly for the first time in 2 years. We used to be a family of five who travelled a lot, we became a family of four who committed to continuing a legacy of making memories adventuring in new places, and not being able to do that for so long felt like we lost another part of who we were as a family, on top of the person I'd made that family with in the first place.
So being able to travel, and feel international sun, and get away, and see the kids enjoying adventure, and experiences, and each other again, and dare I say glimpse sparkle, was a stand out highlight for me. For a few days, we remembered what it felt like..... my 11 year old said "I forgot what it feels like to be this happy" and that's extremely huge. Not saying it solved anything, but it reminded us all, and we need that sometimes.
Plus my just turned 8 year old stopped talking about wishing he was dead - which I know sounds like a bummer - but he's doing so well that he and his counsellor agreed he can just do drop in visits when he feels he needs to, and for a kid who has lost so much of what he thought was stable in this world at such a young age, I'm super thankful that 2021 saw him take such big steps towards a better place.
I am so sorry you have been having such a rough few years. I can't imagine what it would feel like to lose your partner right and then navigate the pandemic on top of that. And it must have been awful to hear how much your kids were struggling. But you must have shown them incredible strength and stability on your own for your 8yo to turn around like that. That's wonderful to hear. I am glad you guys felt happiness again in Greece. That says you can continue to find it. My best wishes to you and your kids in 2022.
What a fun list! It’s so fun to read your long-form writing.
I got to move roles within my company in 2021, from one where I was doing well (but was stressed out and not seeing long term happiness) to one where I am thriving, having moved towards my strengths and into something that really could be my long term career. I’m still amazed at this opportunity.
Congrats on the new job!
Thanks, Ilana! I remembered again how great this switch was for me when it was “normal” stressful getting back in the swing of work this week instead of “oh my gosh I don’t know how much longer I can do this” stressful.
Something good that happened in 2021…we had a baby girl! After dealing with miscarriages, the IVF process and gestational diabetes, I could not feel more fortunate to finally have my adorable and healthy bebe :-)
Congrats! Welcome to the world Baby McC!
I love your list!
My older son went back to his sophomore year of college in Fall 2021 and got to have all his classes in a classroom with a live professor at the head of the class. After a freshman year all online in his dorm, that was such a good change! And he got to attend football and basketball games for the first time! He is thriving in college and his getting a taste of the actual college experience made me so happy for him.
My younger son is in his senior year of high school. He was accepted into his first-choice school and major for college. And earned a scholarship! He is so very excited and it makes me so happy for him!
My husband made the decision to leave his job after 18 years and start his own company. He works in restaurants and food services, so the past two years have been nothing but stressful and hard. But it's *his* stressful and hard now, his decisions and they are actually doing really well.
My favorite moment for me was getting to travel across the country and spend time with our families that we hadn't seen since 2019! I met my niece for the first time. I got to see my mom!! That was what made me so, so very happy!
Cheers to 2022!
2021 was mostly good - new job (and left the old one that I was at for 7+ years), vaccinations and boosters, a little bit more freedom than 2020 afforded, and we stayed healthy. I have hope for 2022, in spite of where we ended 2021. I (and we as a family) have been through much worse than is going on right now. I think it is great that you are staying in NYC - I love it there, almost as much as I love living in California! :)
2021 was great because my husband and I plus our young kids were all able to get vaccinated!! Thinking back to spring 2020 that did NOT seem like a near possibility. Also, my parents who live 1,000 miles away were still able to visit multiple times including for 5 weeks this past summer - never taking the ability to see family for granted again.
And now.. breathe out... all feels good in the world.... I loved reading this one! Thank you x
❤️❤️❤️ this, Ilana. All of this is to be celebrated! ❤️ you.
What a great recap! I find sometimes that when I look back like this I’m able to find good even though a lot of the year felt like a big grind for me. (I work in healthcare- enough said). Good things for us were- my kids visited my mom in Michigan this summer for 2 weeks by themselves and then I joined them for a third week. They had such a good time there and were able to spend so much quality time with my mom, as well as my sister and her family (my kids love their little cousins). The pandemic has made traveling and family time so difficult to come by since they live out of state and I’m so appreciative of the times we’ve had together. My whole family was also together for the first time in a year when my brother got married in South Carolina in September!
Also, so grateful we are all vaccinated. That was a huge high point for me in 2021.
Yes, we definitely have a new appreciation for family. That's great that your kids got all that quality time with your mom and cousins. We visited my stepbrother and his kids for the first time in Maryland and they started coming to our house for a week over the summer. They've done it the past two summers now and I think it will become a tradition. My kids are so much closer with his kids now! It's wonderful.
The only trip my son wants to take this summer is to Grand Rapids to see his grandparents and my sister’s family. He loves it there.
This post made me so happy! I have bern reading your blog for 11 years since I was pregnant with my first son. Reading this made me realize how connected I feel to you. Thank you for sharing your journey. In 2021 I started meditating regularly and really appreciated what I love about teaching (seeing kids in person and field trips).
Thank you for sticking with me this long! One thing I love about Apparently is seeing the names in the comments. Many of them are names I recognize from way back in 2010.
I so enjoyed this issue of Apparently. Everyday there are news stories that points out all the bad in the world with a few good things thrown in at the end to make you feel bette; that is why "news" exists. It is so refreshing to read that there is good coming out of the bad. While Covid and all the surrounding problems related to it have been horrible, there has been a lot of good during the last couple of years. To see you write about the good in your life has been uplifting. Thank you.
Yeah that is how I feel as well. If I see one more article from the NY Times about how badly parents are suffering, I am going to lose my mind. I mean, it's true. And most of them are suffering way worse than me. But I feel like they publish a new one every day!
We took advantage of a job opportunity my husband had and moved from Chicago to Salt Lake City. We decided we were sick of cold winters and high taxes, and moved to a place we love, instead of staying in our comfort zone, and to be near my husbands sisters family so my daughter has cousins in her covid bubble. So far, it all seems to be worth it. The pandemic showed me you can’t just keep doing what’s easy, and it was time to take a risk and make some changes. If I can’t travel as much, I am happy to be somewhere with lots of new local adventures! Although I’m still waiting to take a trip to nyc that I had planned for March 2020. 😒
This is very true. I feel like a lot of us are taking more risks because we realize we have to make the most of RIGHT NOW because there might not be a tomorrow. I'm also realizing that comfort can trap you which is one reason we have been in our place for so long!
Thanks for this post, what wonderful writing which resonated with me in so many ways. My whole family is in the UK, and I entered 2021 having not seen anyone for a year for the first time since I emigrated 13 years ago.
In June, just before the July spike, we managed to get to the UK to visit my family. We took 6,000 COVID tests, we quarantined for 7 days, we only saw a fraction of all the people I would usually see....but oh it was worth it! My parents came here for thanksgiving, and I am so grateful because we ended up canceling our trip to the UK for Christmas. Like you said, I am glad we saw them when we could because you never know when these things are going to turn!
And we spent Christmas alone as our family of 4 for the first time. It was weird, but also nice. Instead of a day filled being busy and noisy, we were quiet and lazy, which was ok! We planned a trip to NYC to replace the UK trip between Christmas and New Year, but then NYC started looking crazy so we pivoted again and ended up driving to Joshua Tree, which was truly magical and somewhere we probably would not have gone otherwise. As you said, we have had the chance to appreciate the US more.
Who knows where 2022 will take us, but I am forever grateful for the resilience of kids....they adapt to every change like troopers and I really don't think they are going to have traumatic memories of the pandemic...my mission is to ensure that this remains true.
Cheers to a hopeful, healthy and happy 2022!
I wanted to add in, for those who need a break from the weight of all the news (I rarely watch anything anymore), Goodnews Movement on Instagram is an amazing account! Most of Hoda’s Morning Boost on the Today Show come from this account, so I’ve usually already seen the story when Hoda talks about it, plus more.
Thank you for sharing this with us. The last two years have been…a lot. It’s easy to get sucked into the “welp” of it all. I’m so happy you were able to see the good in it too. You and your family add so much joy to this corner of the internet and the community you have built over the years is amazing. I feel honored to be a part of it!
I’m so glad you decided to post this instead of your first story. The last two years have been so hard, and I constantly feel the negative wanting to bring us all down. But you took the hard road and instead decided to be grateful for the opportunities you were given. I’m so glad I get to be a part of this community you’ve built. It’s real people with real lives and problems. And you’re family and your stories bring us joy❤️ Thank you for all you share with us!