I must say, this year did not start out like I expected. If you’re like me, you spent the better half of January trying to keep it together. It was both the hardest and longest month for me personally I think since Covid-19 entered our life. I think it was a mix of ongoing strain felt from the pandemic, but at a time when we thought it was getting better while also entering a new year when our hope was at a (perhaps falsely elevated) high. It felt like a sucker punch in the stomach, knocking me right back to the ground which we have become all too familiar with these past years. However, as the clouds faded from the daze I yet again found myself in, I have found some newly grounded peace moving forward. Perhaps, this is what we have been waiting for all along.
2022, you come after a hell of a two years, and I’d argue our expectations are relatively low. I think many of us no longer know what to think or believe, except that without hope we have nothing. The past few weeks, I had the opportunity to see family and dear friends, and never has it brought me so much peace. Never have I felt so much love simply being with those I care for. At work, I have a renewed faith for the kids I care for, knowing myself we can hit rock bottom and rise again. The ability to talk and connect about the tragic realities of the world, has made me feel less disconnected from the world in which I live. I no longer care to hide who I am, or how hard things have been. We were never made to go it alone, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned this past year, it’s that life is completely out of our control. All we can do it take each moment as it comes, and live it to the best of our abilities. Sometimes that means just getting up and making it through the day, even if there are tears and doubts, fear and anxiety. On those days, if you are lucky, you may have a friend who shows up with coffee, breakfast and hug that reminds you that you can do hard things. Other days, you will push yourself, say yes to new adventures and believe in the possibilities of those things yet unseen.
Whatever these past years have brought you, wherever you find yourself now, I hope that you find peace. I hope the tragedies we have endured have taught you something, and through the cracks now rooted in your soul you find light. I hope you are a little softer, a little wiser, and a little kinder, because we need that, now more than ever, and ever more.