2022: A Look Back

It's hard to believe, but here we are at the end of another year. 2022 was not great. Were there awesome, happy moments? Of course. But overall, I really struggled. Under the weight of endless worries and responsibilities. Never feeling like I was doing enough. Always feeling like I was letting people down. In so many ways, I am fortunate and privileged, and I don't want anyone to think that by sharing when things aren't amazing, I'm looking for sympathy, because I'm not. I just think it's important to acknowledge that life is more than the perfect highlight reel most people see. So my real life share is that this year was really hard for me.

That being said, it was incredibly cathartic for me to go back through the year and revisit all the happy times that too often felt buried under the not-so-good times.

We were very lucky to take several trips throughout the year, and they were each incredible in their own way. Our favorite, though, was the rafting trip on the Colorado River. Our other trips included: WDW in January and again in April; a Disney Cruise in April and another in September; Puerto Rico in May; Dominican Republic in June; Las Vegas in July before the river trip and California in August after the river trip; a day trip to NYC in September; and a road trip to round out the year.

We also went to some fun events throughout the year: a Harry Potter exhibit; two Steven Page concerts; a Miami Marlins game; a New York Islanders game; a St. Louis Cardinals game; a Lantern Fest; a Chinese Lantern Festival; The Office Experience; Columbus Zoo Wildlights; and a Detroit Red Wings game. My best friend Dan also visited for a week during the summer and we went to lots of historical things together.

As for the aforementioned not-so-great things, C and I both got COVID over the summer and then we had to cancel trips to Toronto, Denver, Chicago, and Austin this fall. The biggest challenge of course...all that my mom went through this year, coupled with everything that followed when she was finally discharged from the hospital. This continues to be something we deal with every day.

When I was deciding what pictures to include in this post, I decided to choose a few of my favorite selfies and a few of my favorite travel photos to remind myself of the good times in 2022. I don't know how I would have gotten through this year without C; he is a great partner when things are going well, and an even greater one when things are not!

What a year; let's hope 2023 is filled with more joy and happiness than despair and grief! We definitely have some things we are looking forward to over the next twelve months, including trips to places we've been anticipating for a long time, as well as something wonderful tomorrow to kick off the new year!

Happy Tails to you!