It's almost 2022...wait, what?

Well here we are, on the cusp of turning yet another page on the calendar. Sometimes it seems like the past year...really the past two years seem to have just disappeared in the haze of this never-ending pandemic. Yet when I look back to events from a year ago, it seems like 5 years has passed. Time is so weird like that.

I survived sending my first born to college, which was pretty much like leaving my heart behind in a different state. Turns out that when you leave your heart behind, it just beats stronger :).

I watched my youngest struggle through repeated injuries that kept her off her beloved ice for almost 4 months as she also navigated on line school and social isolation. And I watched her come back stronger than ever and blow my mind with her work ethic, tenaciousness and passion.

I managed to release some new music which felt really really good and is motivating me to start work on a new full length album for 2022 (fingers crossed).

The year ahead is daunting in some respects. It holds a very big birthday for me. One that I cannot really wrap my head around. I'm pretty sure I am still 25, but the calendar begs to differ. I remember my mom turning this number- the week after I graduated college. How is it possible that i am now almost that number?

This year is to be one of letting go.

Letting go of things that cannot be changed but that I have allowed to weigh me down. Of accepting that it is perfectly fine to be this number, that I am better in so many ways that I was in my youth (although my butt was definitely better 20 years ago lol)

Letting go of the pursuit of things that have made me miserable in my failure to not attain them. Not giving up - just changing course.

I am not making resolutions this year as the failure to keep them just leads to more angst. Instead:

I'm going to start each day fresh and try to be just a little bit better--a better friend, mother, daughter, sister, aunt - human.

I'm going to try not to shy away from things that challenge me or make me nervous. I'm going to try not to give in to Imposter syndrome and let it keep me from trying new things

I'm going to slow down so I can find the value in every day, relationship and task

I'm going to work on building new things while letting things that have been weighing me down drift into the ether

So here's to another year on this crazy planet. May we learn something new, may we love deeper and more selflessly, may we be grateful for every second we have with each other

To peace, growth and love in 2022

xo

Jenn