Happy New Year! I feel like 2021 went by slowly at times, and so quickly in many, many ways. Though the last few months have been more helter-skelter, overall, our year went pretty alright.
In 2020, we liked having a resolution w o r d, as opposed to just a checklist, so much that we did it again for 2021. Regrettably, I literally had to look up what our word was when preparing for this post. Oops. Still, I think it was lodged somewhere in my brain, because our word, mindfulness, actually did color quite bit of our year.
First, off, there were a couple of things—less passivity (whatever that means), and less screens—that we very much did not hit. You win some, you lose some. Our goal was to consciously choose how we wanted to spend our time, and what we wanted to do, instead of just going on autopilot.
- more involvement. Early in the year, Todd started volunteering for BikeWalk Provo. He’d been looking for ways to get involved in the community more, and with his newfound love of biking, it seemed a good choice. I took initiative, and revamped the entirety of the Babywearing Utah website: graphics; text; pages. E v e r y t h i n g, except the store. I think it took me like 75 hours total during one week, but I am extremely proud of the results. Todd also accepted an offer to create a sword and buckler regime for the local HEMA clubs, as he’s the most studied in that area. In the summer, he competed in his first ever sword tournament, too! We attended our local farmer’s market most weeks, as well as going to a couple other community events.
- more action. With kids, it can be hard for me to get projects done. But Todd works all day, and it’s not really super fun for either of us to have me wait around with a list (that’s not getting done), or to get done with a day-job just to be handed more tasks. I took on several projects solo—or majority solo. First, I started work on the feature was in our dining room. Then, I painted the plant shelf in our bedroom black, like I’ve wanted for years. Finally, I made a feature wall in our room where I measured and cut all the battens, sanded, and painted everything. It turned out so well! When Babywearing Utah was contacted by a company looking for models for their upcoming baby carrier shoot, I volunteered to model and be the educator on-site. Though it ended up being a bit last-minute, I’m so glad I have gorgeous, professional pictures of me wearing Harry. And it turns out the sling were extremely popular, so that’s cool. (You can check us out here!) After nearly 2 years, I finally got my wedding bands fixed so I could wear them again; and updated my style—I feel cute again. Mid-year, I reached out, and made some new connections for the kids, and it’s been the greatest blessing of our entire 2021. We also biked together a b u n c h.
- learning and improving new skills. At the beginning of the year, I started knitting a little bit, and made a cozy cowl for myself, and one for Harry. Gwendolyn has also been picking up knitting (she’s not bad!?!); and Todd has been knitting me an e n o r m o u s scarf the last few months. I took an online hand-lettering class. In October, Todd started a crochet class, and really enjoyed it. A large portion of his year was dedicated to growing pepper plants he’d raised from seeds; he learned a lot, but they unfortunately all died. Gwendolyn continues to have fun sewing (she made a Christmas ornament completely by herself!), drawing, and, now, painting. This Fall, we also began informally homeschooling. For her birthday, Gwendolyn got a pedal bike, and was doing it without help after 3 days. Harry is finally big enough for the balance bike we bought him a year ago, so they both bike or scooter––in our house––constantly.
So, in the end, we were a little more choosy—or mindful—with how we spent our time, and I think it worked out pretty well.
Our focus word for 2022 was easy to select:
c o n s i s t e n c y
Though a lot of good happened last year, especially in the second half, I feel there are several areas where our (my) consistency could really be improved. If you read my post about about working out with kids, you’ll know I have a new fitness goal revolving around consistency. I’m also wanting to more consistently be the kind of parent I was with just 1 kiddo. Currently, I have a 167-day streak on Duolingo, and I want to keep that going. Sticking to our routines better will really help us. And I want to not just occasionally hit the goals I have, but to make habits.
Here’s to 2022. May we have the fortitude to be consistent!
