This year has whizzed by, and I feel like I’m still trying to get my balance. I had big plans for the year. Some plans I executed while others fell flat. 2022 started out on a very “what the [insert expletive]” kind of note. I literally spent New Years’ Eve 2021 experiencing a medical crisis which, in retrospect, I should have gone to the hospital for. I didn’t want to ring in the new year away from my family and I powered through while Brian did his best to keep our children oblivious to what I was experiencing. A few days later, I received insight into some of the health issues I’d been facing. I was diagnosed with Lupus. From there my mental health continued to decline despite my best efforts. I became scared of the thoughts I was having and frustrated with my physical self. Neither my mind nor my body was functioning the way it should and the way I knew it could. For the next few months, my physical and mental healing replaced other goals that had been at the top of my list. Brian helped me seek help for my mental health. Addressing that first, helped me develop the proper mindset needed to address my physical challenges. After all, being a parent doesn’t stop when you get sick.

The first three to four months of 2022 are still fuzzy to me.

In April, the fog began to lift. I knew I had much to be thankful for. We both had much to be thankful for and took this year by the horns. Most COVID restrictions had been lifted and it seemed like the right time to live out loud…and outside! Some of our vacations included a week-long beach vacation, a vacation to a cabin in the mountains, two week-long vacations to Disney World, and two-day trips to Busch Gardens. We also had a few local weekend getaways with and without the kids. Our most notable solo staycation was our Anniversary weekend at MGM Grand National Harbor. Our most notable celebration this year was Brian’s fortieth birthday which we celebrated with friends and family at our favorite board game establishment.

We plan to spend the next couple of weeks homebound as much as we can. Cleaning up the house and preparing to ring in the new year organized and with healthy routines established. We lived out loud and outside this year and we are exhausted! We both have talked about scaling back vacations for 2023 and focusing more on home life. That doesn’t mean we don’t have another year of adventures laid out. I hope you stick around and enjoy the stories we share. Comments are open and I’d like to hear about your plans for 2023.