Best of 2021

2021 is just about done and I have no lingering feelings for it. Normally I'm super positive about things and like to wrap up with "this was the best year ever!" but honestly, this year was kind of fine. It feels like I just sort of wandered through the entire year. I enjoyed the enjoyable things, and survived the not enjoyable things and I guess my point is 2021 isn't a year specifically that I'm going to look back on with any delusions of grandeur. 

That said, most of the year was enjoyable. If there weren't any achievements to be proud of (no big road trips or new jobs or books written), there were a lot of really nice bits and I might never think, wow 2021, whatta year, I think I'll sink happily in the memories of Duke and I spending every free minute at the beach. I think all the bonfires in the backyard and pitchers of margaritas and books I read will feel very much like the good old days. It was a very comfortable year and sometimes, I think that's good enough. 

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The best of our year - 

Winter

Started the year so cheerfully optimistic. I like a good fresh page and I wrote myself a handful of goals, of which I only managed to achieve a couple, and immediately started counting down to summer. 

In March, Ryan and I took a trip together, without Duke, for the first time since 2014 (!!). We left Duke with grandma for a sleepover weekend, also a first, and hopped on one of those small 8-seater planes for a quick 45 minute flight to Chicago. 10/10, would do it again. Our friends in Chicago have since had a baby, so I think weekends will look a little different, but man, we had one heck of a blast on what we didn't know would be our last hurrah for a hot minute. 

It was St. Pat's weekend. Cool river, right?!

I bought a new car at the end of March. Again, the last time I did that was 2014, so it's been a while. I like it - technology has changed quite a bit, but Duke is not impressed. He goes "it's not as cool as a Lamborghini, Mom" and I mean, he's probably right. But it does have a sun roof, and that's pretty neat. 

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Spring

One of my 2021 goals was to go on a trip and I remember laying in bed, early in January, texting away with my sisters-in-law to plan our trip to Austin in the spring. Kind of a gimme goal, but you know, check check. 

Cool place. Probably wouldn't make a point of going back, but I did have this great cheese board and I'll always remember that. 

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Summer

Easily, this is one our best summers. Duke is this wonderful, companionable age, and while he debates me on just about everything, we always agree on going to the beach. 

I worked from home full-time until early July, and during that glorious time, I would snap my computer shut at 5pm, hop in the car, and be at the beach by 5:15. We were there so often, I kept a pre-packed bag in my trunk that I would restock every Sunday. I just needed to throw some Bublys in a cooler, make a couple sammys, and off we went. 

Mid-summer, Ryan's mom got a new puppy, Henry. He's a classic puppy -- wild, kind of annoying, but way way way cute. We love him. 

I turned 33 at the end of the summer, and Ryan went on a trip with his brother out west. The last few weeks of summer was just Duke and me, chasing sunsets and staying at the beach until it got dark.

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Fall

Our fall was a whopper. Ryan turned 40, Duke turned 5 and started school. He also gave up wearing anything that doesn't have Spiderman on it.  I briefly romanticized signing up to be part of the PTA before remembering that I can barely find the time to keep up on my laundry, so committing to something that requires a commitment seems out of my league. 

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Christmas

Is Christmas its own season, like summer or spring? I think so. It's so consuming. 

This season was lots of twinkle lights and watching Home Alone 1&2 at least twice a day. Three times if he can talk me into it. We played Life and Guess Who and Match every night. 

Personally, I enjoyed another "little kid" Christmas in which Duke believes in all the magic and Santa, and delighted in all the fun things like making cookies and driving around looking for Christmas lights. I was thinking last night how selfishly I love Duke's childhood for all the ways it makes me feel. He had asked me if I ever took pictures of him when he was a baby (looool, so many) and we were flipping through them and it was just annoyingly emotional. I don't know how to explain it, but I love this boy and I love the way being a mom makes me feel. I selfishly want this season to last forever for me. He says he wants to be at least 16. 

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A few other nice bits - 

A Sunday afternoon snooze. 

Flying over Lake Michigan, wondering if I could survive a plane crash in open water. 

Halloween booty. 

Took this picture on a walk in December. Love the beach, no matter the season.

I've always wanted to visit Mac Island in the fall and this year, a fun party made it happen. Just as beautiful as expected. 

I had a hankering for cake one Saturday afternoon. No celebration or anything, but Duke wanted to pop in a candle. I came back into the kitchen and found every candle we own shoved into that cake. 

On the porch with a snack and a book - you can always count on finding me there. 

Surprising Sara for her 40th birthday! 

Rolled ice cream in Chicago. 

My best friends. 

The best part of my year is always who I spend it with and while I try to be mindful of other people's privacy and not post their pictures on a blog - idk, they might be in the witness protection program or something - my favorite memories with with people. The Sara/hs, Kelsey and Stephanie, Mol, my sisters Dee and Samantha, our friends in Chicago, our parents, our families, our kids. The best parts of my life are with you. 

Happy New Year guys. I'm trying to come up with a mantra or manifest something for this year and I'm not quite there yet, so I'll just vaguely hope for tons of money, health of course, concerts to come back in 2022, and plenty of tortilla chips, salsa, and margaritas for all of us.