‘Tis the season to be jolly, right?
2022 was a reasonable year. It wasn’t the sh*tshow that 2020 was or filled with 2020 PTSD like 2021. Billions of vaccines were administered world wide, Michigan beat Ohio State for the second year in a row, all 50 states have now–finally–sent a woman to Washington, Wordle entered our lives, Britney and Britttney were freed, streaming services gave us a plethora of great shows, and the Top Gun sequel was actually pretty great. (This is my things to be happy about column–I’m steadfastly ignoring the year’s bad news here.)
Personally, I had a good year. I was able to travel, see friends and family and new places. My husband and I edged towards retirement. My children all survived, even (mostly) thrived. I saw the library at Ephesus. My health, and that of my amazing mother, is good. My hot flashes finally went away. I like my daughter’s new boyfriend and my middle son is more or less engaged.
I tend to look for the joy in life rather than the sorrow. Sorrow will always find you–it’s the price of being human and loving and living. Joy, though, joy can take effort. I seek happiness in things both great and small. (As I was writing this, a gorgeous red-tailed hawk flew lazy circles above my window. Just glorious!)
If I had to pick one thing as the best thing that happened in 2022 I’d–at this moment–choose Thanksgiving dinner. Sixteen members of my family (we number 22) were there. My nephew did all the cooking, the sun was shining, and we capped the day off by watching The Princess Bride. It was an almost flawless day with the people I love most and my mom could not stop smiling. It’s a personal joy not a global one but it was just the best.
How about you?
I like this question – it reminds me to reflect on what’s good instead of thinking about what I didn’t accomplish, or what I could have done better.
Let’s see, good things. I’d pick events like Rev. Warnock winning the election, but I should focus on the personal. So…
Looking forward to reading everyone else’s good news too!
So many first! I loved that you tried woodworking. Three cheers for being intrepid this year!
Thank you! I went to a high school where there were no extracurricular activities – no art, sports, shop class, home economics, etc. It was all “serious” education – math, science, and so on. So when I went to university in the States, I was amazed by all the different things that could be learned, and I still feel that way. I would love to try crocheting next year.
Go for it! I’ve been looking around for new things to occupy my mind and time, as well. My oldest and I are kicking around a few possibilities to do together. (I’m much more reliable with a “buddy!”)
I’ll need to think a minute about my year’s best thing to post but in the meantime what a great looking family! And I love that you are in a sleeveless dress and bare feet, while others are in sweaters and fleeces and long pants! Reminds me of many of our family photos too . . . LOL.
I am always too hot!
This was definitely a much better year than the previous two. Thank you for posting this question. Its always good to look for what gives us joy. I guess the best parts of my year were the two road trips I made to see relatives old and new, some I hadn’t seen in many, many years. My Mom’s cousin met us for a tour of the wonderful Dali Museum in St. Petersburg Florida. Another cousin met us to tour the Morse Museum in Winter Park that has a large collection of Tiffany art. The glass bottom boat ride at Silver Springs was another highlight of that trip. Then there was the family reunion in Tennessee this Summer with a side trip to Savanna before heading back North. This September, I enjoyed a ride on a replica of a 18th century schooner that patrolled the Chesapeake Bay during the American Revolution. I’m still watching a lot of virtual tours, presentations, and classes on subjects as diverse as travel, history, art, exercise, and cooking. The water aerobics classes at my local gym are keeping me moving and I’ve met a lot of fun people there. I guess there’s no need to add that reading has always brought me joy,
Our 7th month old lab brings me great joy. When we go for walks the neighbors are friendly and even the kids say hi to him when they scoot by. I finally got back to the beach again and it felt so good to feel the sand between my toes. Plus I got to be with family and that was the most special thing of all. Thank you for your happy blog.
I have such a long list of the “best” thing to happen this year. Our family suffered greatly in 2020 and it carried into 2021. 2022 has been a year of stabilization and adjustment and, finally, reconnecting with those we love. My biggest joy of 2022 was my Mom’s birthday party. She wanted a dance party in her barn with a select list of family to be invited. My siblings and I managed to put together the “family dance party of the century” (ok, maybe the only one ever, but … LOL). Mom’s only gift request was a dance or song with every grandchild & great grandchild and I was so proud to see my children, grand children, neices and nephews & greats, dance and sing with their Grandma all night long. Many admitted to learning how to dance just to able to dance with her. I loved it and was so happy watching Mom loving every moment of the day. We had family we had not seen for several years come in from all over the country to dance, sing, gossip, eat and catch up, most brought tents or campers and stayed all weekend. JOY is the only way to describe it, complete joy!
Oh my giddy aunt–that sounds beyond wonderful. How lucky you all are. That is just the best! Thank you for sharing.
What a great idea! I love everything this but particularly that people – kids! – took the time to learn to dance just for this event. I’ll bet they’ll think about your Mom every time they take to a dance floor for the rest of their lives. How lovely. Thank you for sharing it.
Michael McKean followed me on Twitter, I got some positive attention for my work.
This year was tough around here, but there were some highlights as well. All of my great times involve a little travel. The first was a trip to Norfolk in the spring for a long weekend for just my husband and me. It wasn’t a perfect trip, but it was great because it was the first time in over 4 years we’d been away with just us. Next, in July, was a one night get together with my brother and sister. We met up in VA sort of equidistant from our three cities. Again, it was the first time we’d all been together since my Mom’s memorial service three years earlier.
Then in the fall my nephew got married and it was essentially a family/friend reunion on my side of the family. Fantastically fun wedding, and a great time for me since I’m an extrovert like my brother and his family and we were all loud together! I love meeting new people and haven’t had a lot of opportunity since I left work when the pandemic started. I really didn’t realized how much I’d missed interacting with lots of people.
And now I can add the weekend trip to Colonial Williamsburg, VA we just returned from. That area is my husband’s old stomping ground and his brother lives there. We went for the annual Grand Illumination Christmas celebrations. Wonderful fun, great history, and some yummy food.
I’d never heard of the Christmas celebrations in Colonial Williamsburg, so I googled this. The fireworks look spectacular! What a great experience.