Is it just me or was this year actually a decade?
Well! I think at this time last year we thought the Pandemic At The Disco would be in the rearview mirror, and yet it is not. Currently we are going through our FIFTH wave, which is extremely disheartening and, at this point, makes me feel like this is forever. Intellectually I know that’s not the case; everything passes with time and this will too. (WHEN?)
We are ending the year on a low; yesterday it was announced that the winter break would be “extended” and the January diploma exams, of which my older son was due to write three, have been cancelled. It is very discouraging. Going through this post I realized that there were many low moments, but I do feel like there was a lot of joy and laughter this year as well. I think living through a global pandemic has forced me to re-examine my life and to make new kinds of choices about it. There have been ups and downs and in-betweens, and, on that note, let’s examine the year in the Boyhouse.
Boyhouse Year In Review 2021
January
I set some goals and expressed my gratitude, I cleaned my oven and reused canning lids, after six weeks of at-home learning the kids went back to school and my son immediately broke his glasses in gym class, and I talked about being judgmental and how I don’t want to be that way, but we are only human. I also shared my hot tip on how to grow your hair out – just stop cutting it.
I kind of forgot how grim things were last January, with everything closed down for the second wave. Wait, was it the second? Yes, second. Still, look at that photo! Lots of beauty still to be found.
February
I continued to embrace the concept of friluftsliv with my fabulous wardrobe choices, I decided to change my mindset towards overstocking the pantry and also my period, it was really, really cold and it was also Family Day, which was great since I hadn’t spent every SINGLE waking hour with my family for eleven months, and I was really sad and couldn’t figure out if it was hormones or, you know, life in a pandemic. I also expressed my love for hearts and chocolate.
I must have cleaned my fridge right before that photo – it’s so shiny!
March
My son was almost done with his braces and to celebrate, I made him be my pack horse at the liquor store, in the spirit of Trying New Things I had body sugaring done and it was life-changing, I reflected on one year of Pandemic Living, I compared Costco 2021 to Costco 2020, and we had A Very Eventful Week which started with me thinking I had a blood clot to my son threatening to burn his orthodontic elastics, and, failing that, his masks. To add to the excitement, I talked about my favourite cleaning items, please don’t everyone click on that at once, you might break the internet.
April
Wow, a lot of things went wrong and so I was as cross as two sticks, my tenacious chin hair turned white and I had lots of awkward interactions at the library, we were in another mini-lockdown and so I talked about my Coping Mechanisms, I talked about being Pro-Aging, as opposed to Anti-Aging, which is a ridiculous concept, and I got vaccinated the day after my birthday! I also talked about my favourite skin-care products FOR PRO-AGING.
Gosh, remember how hopeful we all felt back then? Like the Pandemic was no longer going to be At The Disco. Good times.
May
After talking about Pro-Aging, I was asked if I wanted the senior’s discount at Shoppers, and then the lady didn’t even give me the discount, I had a really big downward spiral and then started to climb back up, then I had lots of ups and downs, including lineups at Costco (down) and flower purchases (up), it snowed and the kids were slated to go back to in-person school, Barkley turned 13, and I discussed all my favourite little helpers!
June
I was inspired to Embrace the Season – inspired by a woman who, sadly, has just recently passed after a long and difficult illness. Her words will remain with me forever, and she will be much missed. Rest in peace, Melanie.
Less sadly, I talked about clothing trends and how depressing the mall is these days, after a couple of weeks being in school the boys were on exam break, our provincial government continued to be stupid and dropped every single Covid protocol which, spoiler alert, was not a good idea, and I did a lot of gardening.
July
We visited my parents and I swam in the lake, the province may have dropped their mask mandate, but I kept my own, I talked about aging and my aging face, and I bought new bras and shared my favourite life-changing items.
August
We went on vacation and unsurprisingly given the complete lack of Covid restrictions, there were tons of outbreaks, I read a lot, I was grateful to Spotify, my aunt sent me Royal Family memorabilia, I almost lost my mind not being able to find my clothes, I did an “Ask Me Anything” post, I recycled all the old boxes my husband had hoarded out of the storage room, I got very Landslide-y, and recalled all the stupid things I used to worry about, and I loved my garden.
September
Thank you, Universe, the kids went back to school, we got our ducts cleaned and found a sheep, and my husband and I went to Lake Louise, I recapped eighteen months of Pandemic Life, my son turned 16 and I did a deep dive into Jane Eyre, I talked about clothing trends and bought new jeans, and I shared all my handbags with you.
October
I was feeling very low, I talked about gourds and Gords, I was – as always – grateful for modern technology as I have zero sense of direction, my cute little mini-gourds were being eaten by something in the neighbourhood, and I shared my favourite things about Spooky Season and discovered a gruesome scene.
November
I shifted my festivities focus from Spooky Season to Tiny Secret Festive Season, I was living la vida hygge, I had one-on-one time with my younger son and WE ATE TAKEOUT FOOD, I learned about thirst traps, I got full-on festive, and I talked about the reasons I love November.
Usually by this time in the annual recap, I think well, this just happened! but it feels like November was a year ago already. Time has no meaning.
December
I received the most thoughtful Secret Santa gift and my son came down with a cold, I completely lost track of the days, I had not one, but two Christmas miracles, I went to Banff with my husband, and I shared my favourite things about December.
As we wrap up the (very strange and weirdly long) year, I wish you all the best in 2022. WHO KNOWS WHAT 2022 WILL BRING. I think we can all agree that no one can predict anything anymore, but I hope you are all safe and healthy, and am wishing you much joy, peace, and happiness. Thank you, always, for reading my little blog. xo
I think for me 2021 was better, just not as much better as we all thought it would be. We got a Christmas card from a friend of Beth’s, a photo card of the friend in a Santa hat and a mask with the caption, “At least it was better than 2020.” I thought that summed it up nicely. But really, this time last year both kids had been in remote school for almost a year with no end in sight and North was still having seizures. I think it’s possible they could both end up in remote school again, but if so, I hope it’s a brief interlude and not for over a year again.
Happy new year, blog friend. Let’s hope for the best.
I’m so glad I found your blog this year! People seem to assume everyone in Canada knows each other, so it was great to discover another “Canuck.”
And now excuse me while I go read about 30 of your blog posts I opened in another tab…I joined your party late in 2021 and have some catch-up to do 🙂
Ups and downs and highs and lows indeed. I love your recaps and all the gorgeous photos. Thanks for making my year brighter with your writing!
I am so sorry for the loss of Melanie. Sending you love and light.
I am also SO SORRY that your “break” has been extended. That is just so deflating, isn’t it? I hope the extension is SHORT and the remainder of the school year NORMAL.
Those travel/hiking pictures are just beautiful. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog . I can’t wait to keep reading in 2022. 🙂
Happy New Year, dear Nicole! I can’t wait to follow along to see what 2022 brings. xo
Wow. You covered a lot this year. So sorry about the passing of your friend. I always enjoy your positive and humorous spin on things. Looking forward to whatever 2022 holds . . . we’ve got this. I think. Happy New Year.
It HAS been a hard year, but I’m determined that I will meet whatever 2022 gives us with some degree of humor. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year and I’m so glad I found your blog this year! You’re funny and all, but it’s really the bra recommendation that I was after… I probably shouldn’t admit this but I mostly wear two several-years-old “training” bras from the kid’s department at Target.
Happy New Year Nicole! I’m glad I found this blog too – it’s been so many years now – and it’s amazing how many similar things we like and do. And read of course! I hope this is the year you can declare no more Pandemic weeks!
What a year! 2021 definitely didn’t look like everything we pictured, but I love the good moments you captured. Vaccines and vacation and your kids going back to school. Good things!!! I really hope 2022 finds us returning to some sort of normalcy, but who really knows. The way it’s starting doesn’t give me all that much hope. <3
You did share quite a bit of stuff with us this past year; mostly good, so thank you for that. You always make me smile and I usually have at least one or two take-aways from your posts!
I actually wrote a 2021 recap and will post it tomorrow. I am LATE, but who the hell cares. Right?
I also agree that November seems like a year ago. *sigh*
Cheers to a better 2022 for you and yours.
Well, this was fun! I went back and read a few of the older posts, including “Ask Me Anything.” Since I’m a fairly new reader, it was very informative!
Yes, who would ever have thought, last January, that we would still be dealing with the pandemic? I wonder what we’ll be saying in January 2023. Maybe we’re in for some more surprises!
This was fun – I love these kind of reviews and going through it, I clicked on some of the links here and there and realized; yes, I’ve been reading Nicole’s blog for a while now 🙂 How nice to recognize things you mentioned here.
It sounds like you had a pretty good year, despite the overall disappointment that was 2021.