Good Sunday evening, ladybugs, thank you for joining me for my 2022 word of the year (WOTY) reveal and 2021 recap. I think the rest of the free world have already announced their WOTY. Naturally, I am dragging tail and just getting my word figured out. Think I’ve figured out a good one. But before we get to that, let’s take a look at the year that was 2021 and my recap.
2021 Recap
January 2021
- purged clothes…hmm, and yet I need to do it again one year later!!
- continued drinking smoothies and putting together daily bags of fruit and veggies for them
- Mom struggled with repeated UTIs and PC had an epidural for his back pain
- Cami had surgery for her lip and tongue ties
- helped get Lucia and Cami off to school a number of times
- Mom was vaccinated
- Purrsimmony sent messages to me by stepping on my laptop keyboard including bringing up the video “O, Come to the Altar”
- created my “Laundry Day” collage with Valerie
- new fridge
- dusting of snow
February 2021
- second epidural for PC
- Favorite Treats for My Sweets recipe swap and I made German chocolate pie
- counted and turned in our change for a whopping $300+
- days of struggles trying to straighten out Mom’s insurance
- Valentine’s Day snow
- PC and I were vaccinated
- Mom’s assisted living complex opened for visitors after a year of Covid restrictions – finally
March 2021
- Cami was hospitalized with stomach issues and dehydration
- Brennyn and Mustafa were in a wreck
- Lauren had an endoscopy of her upper and lower gastrointestinal tract; may have Crohn’s Disease
- joined Brennyn, Mustafa and Cady for a trip to Disney World but Mustafa got sick almost immediately
- enjoyed riding rides with Cady that I rode when I was a little girl the year Disney World opened
April 2021
- first swim of the year
- PC’s 3rd epidural
- first baseball game of the season
- exciting news that I couldn’t immediately share (Brennyn was pregnant)
- emergency dental procedure on my teeth
- trip to visit our moms in Kentucky and Ohio
- Mom appeared to be having a stroke but turned out it was a bad UTI
- finished my mosaic for the #100DayProject
May 2021
- Mom spent much of the month in tears
- fulfilled many of my spring bucket list activites
- volunteered at the Clothes Closet at First Baptist Church
- great trip to visit Mom the very end of the month with Lauren, Francisco, Lucia and Cami, Mom really perked up
June 2021
- possibly the best month of the year
- enjoyed a few more days of our visit with Mom before flying home
- cardiologist appointments to determine the cause of my cramping, dizziness, buzzing in my legs
- spent the night at Lauren’s so I could help after her heart ablation
- skin scan and skin tags removed
- gender reveal – Brennyn is having a boy
- my book club has 100 members and has provided a renewed sense of purpose to my life
July 2021
- days of crazy rain in the middle of our desert home
- a week of assorted cardiac testing
- Mom was rushed to the ER for symptoms of a stroke, tested and when nothing was found, hospital sent her home in an Uber
- Hiker Babes hike to Hueco Tanks
- created altered Halloween houses with my sister Valerie
- high-risk obstetrician discovered fibroid cysts on Brennyn’s uterus
- family vacay to South Padre Island full of adventures and minor catastrophes
- purged many of my spring and summer holiday decorations
August 2021
- enjoyed several additional days of our South Padre vacay
- offered a long-term librarian sub job which I accepted but then declined – Covid worries, worries that I will have to take off to help Mom or Brennyn at the drop of a hat
- watched with horror as the situation in Afghanistan, where Mustafa’s family is from, unfolded
- helped get the babies off to school several days
- purged more summer decor
September 2021
- Matt visited
- finished spring-into-summer cleaning
- MRI of my neck and back indicate a lot of issues
- Mom is so tired of life
- scrapbooked Cady’s ballet dancing days
- Cami said my name (Gabba) and wanted to call me on the phone
- Lucia has a boyfriend in kinder – heaven help us
October 2021
- PC was still playing baseball
- set up my dia de los muertos altar
- Brennyn and Cady visited
- went to Ruidoso and White Sands, NM with the girls, the pumpkin patch and corn maze, too
- Peter Piper with Cady
- began physical therapy for my neck and back issues
- super frustrating blog issues where my HTML disappeared and I was unable to attach images
- first trip to ‘beautiful’ Target (as Lucia calls it) since Covid with Lauren, Lucia and Cami – who was in awe of all the things
- cardiologist wants me to wear Holter monitor for 2 weeks (have yet to do this)
- became a certified notary public
- tried cryotherapy
- New Mexico winery tour – fun
- Halloween with Cami and Lucia
November 2021
- visited Brennyn, Mustafa and Cady in Ft. Worth for a weekend
- attended Brennyn’s baby shower
- got my mammogram
- physical therapy several times a week all month, neck and back feel better
- Mom fell and was taken to the ER but released later in the day
- Tin Mines hike and burrito run
- hosted the end of season baseball party
- hosted the kids and Pumpkin, their new pup, for Thanksgiving
- toured nursing homes near our house and tried to find nursing home openings in Lexington to no avail
- Mom has been crying every day, so the doctor upped her antidepressant
December 2021
- trip to Kentucky and Ohio to visit our moms
- PC’s son Matt surprised everyone when he revealed he was moving to Ohio from New York, and moving in with his grandmother
- set up Mom’s ViewClix so we can place video calls with her
- Brennyn learned that Declan is very small due to intrauterine growth restriction
- helped with Cami and Cia
- PC and I flew to Ft. Worth to be there for Declan’s birth
- Declan struggled to breathe, had to be suctioned for 45 minutes after inhaling much fluid
- Brennyn crashed 3 times during and after the delivery – scariest day of my life
- Brennyn was in ICU so I stayed the night with Declan in NICU
- best Christmas gift ever – Brennyn and Declan are both okay and were able to come home from the hospital
- PC flew home and I stayed a few extra days to help the kids
- quiet New Year’s had us in bed before 10 pm
2021 was not my favorite year but neither was 2020 or 2019. The way I figure it, we are overdue for a terrific year and 2022 is going to be the one.
My 2022 WOTY
As always, I am about a week behind the rest of the world in figuring out and sharing my word of the year. And then if it is like years past, by this time next month I will have forgotten it altogether. So, I could probably save myself some trouble and you some time, if I just skipped this. But there’s the hope that maybe this will be the year that I can remember my word beyond January and reflect on it all 12 months.
The Words of Some of My Friends
My friend Christie at So What? Now What? had a good post about selecting a word of the year. Read it here. But to summarize, Christie suggests we brainstorm a list of possible words, then narrow that long list to just a few words, give ourselves a couple of days to think on those words and then select the one that fits best for our word of the year. Christie’s word for 2022 is connected.
My friend Deb at Deb’s World embraces her word of the year into all aspects of her life. She lives it and feels it. Her word this year is gift. Leanne at Cresting the Hill chose fabulous. Joanne at Slices of Life chose step. Ruth at This West London Life selected redefine. For Denyse at Denyse Whelan Blogs her word of the year is actually 2…be me. Sue at Women Living Well After 50 chose the word be. Finally, Kirstin at Loving Life selected unfold. Have YOU selected your word yet?
And My Word
I wanted a word that indicated my desire to try to balance everything in my life. A word that would remind me to be less rigid. A word that would prompt me to be more optimistic. Happier, more content. Able to roll with the punches. The word I selected is flow.
As in:
- go with the flow
- ebb and flow
- get my creative juices flowing
- improve my cash flow
- find my flow and rhythm
- my heart overflows
Some verses from the Bible using the word flow.
Proverbs 4:23: Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
&
John 7:38: Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.
Now to see where flow takes me in 2022.
Your Turn
What would you rate your 2021? It was certainly a mixed bag for us. But we are blessed in so many ways. And we came through the bad days. Recently pinned a good reminder of just that.
Please leave your word of the year below and inspire me with what you have chosen and why. And then if you aren’t already joining us for the sentence a day series and bucket lists posts this year, consider doing so. Sentence a Day posts go live the first Tuesday of the month. They are a great way to journal about your life. And I share my seasonal bucket lists and updates on the 21st of each month. I was heart-deep in LIFE when normally I would have shared my winter bucket list and provided a final update on my fall list. But will write up my winter bucket list and share it this coming week on 01.21.2022. Come join me!!
Enjoy a peaceful Martin Luther King, Jr. day in his honor. Thank you for stopping by to spend a few moments with me.
Hugs and kisses,
Marsha Banks
I don’t really do a word of the year. But, one day a week or so ago, the word, intent, just popped into my head. So, maybe that is my word? Your year was certainly full, wasn’t it? I’m starting to do a sort of journal now, but who knows how long I will keep up with it. The picture of Baby Declan and his family just melts my heart. You have such a big beautiful family, Leslie!
Let’s hope after the last two years that really weren’t, that 2022 is one full of flow and intent!
Marsha
Terri Webster Schrandt
Leslie, you had a stunningly busy and stressful 2021! I appreciate that you took some time to share for Sunday Stills in 2021 and I miss your photography! You are really sandwiched as caregiver and chief worrier over your mom and your beautiful children and grandchildren. Flow is a wonderful word for you. Reading this is incredibly timely as we are choosing our word via our church, which was talked about this week. What a GOdwink! Incidentally, flow is that state of leisure where your skill meets the challenge and time passes like nothing while you are in the activity or doing something you love. I’m still figuring my word and yours is giving me ideas. Perfect scripture too. Have a blessed week my friend.
Debbie Harris
Hi Leslie, Flow is a brilliant word of the year and the way you describe it makes it really workable. Thanks for the mention, I’ve enjoyed seeing everyone’s words, they all mean something special to the writer. It’s a good way to focus for the year and I wish you well.
I enjoyed your review of the year and agree you deserve a good year – so much happened!! May 2022 be
a great year for you and your family 🙂
stylefrontier
wow i must say that a lot of things indeed happen in a year! the word flow is so lovely for a reminder. I am glad for all the beautiful things happened to you and wishing you a wonderful year ahead
xoxo
style frontier
Deb
Good choice! It feels like the kind of word which can be interpreted and fitted into your life in many ways.
Gosh, when you look back on 2021 month by month it seems there was never a dull moment! Let’s hope that 2022 is calmer and full of good things.
Glowyshoes
I enjoyed reading through your recap of 2021 and we looking forward to a great 2022
Glowyshoe’s blog
Jennifer Goodwin
That’s a great word! My word for the year is fulfilled…as in nothing else will ever give me a sense of being fulfilled except for the Lord Jesus. I wrote about my own word last week and do a better job of explaining it there, but for too many years, I’ve let other things bring me that sense of fulfillment. No more! I’m a work in progress, as always. Thanks for sharing!
Joanne
That is a great word for your year!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you!! Now to apply it.
Dara
I’m sorry you had a hard year. Flow seems like a good choice of a word. I thought I chose kindness as my word, but now I’m thinking connect would be a better option.
Christie Hawkes
Hello Dara. I found your comment interesting, because kindness was on my original brainstorm list for word of the year, but ultimately I rolled kindness into being connected and went with that. May we all feel more connected with and kind toward ourselves and each other in 2022.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Connected and kindness are both good words. I think that in searching for my sense of purpose, I am also seeking a sense of connectedness to something somewhere. I always feel connected to my family but there are times when I need something outside the fam to give me purpose.
Morgan
What a year 2021 was for you!
I love our WOTY. Flow is such a good one. I do not have a word of the year. I haven’t landed on one that speaks to me yet.
2022 will be a good year. I can feel it.
Patricia Doyle
I did not pick a WOTY this year, but I love hearing about everyone else’s WOTY. Intriguingly, I was at a gem show yesterday (fully masked of course) and was really drawn to looking for a fluorite crystal, maybe even as a bead bracelet (I wear stone/crystal bracelets a lot). Not sure why and did not find one, but then I looked it up and Fluorite stands for FLOW! It also stands or confidence, direction, and love. Anyway, when I saw your WOTY, the synchronicity of the moment hit me. Flow must be something I’m needing as well. Looking forward to how you embrace your WOTY … maybe find yourself a fluorite bracelet – it’s a beautiful green and purple gemstone – oh and $8 for bracelet on Amazon 🙂 !
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Heading to Amazon at your suggestion right now. Maybe we can write a post about flow together. We have been nursing a combination of bronchitis-sinusitis-cough for a week now but are about to turn the corner. Hallelujah. I think we were just worn out and nature took its course. This ‘epizootic’ as my mother would call it, made us slow down and rest.
Juhli
Wow, what a year of ups and downs you had. Hopefully all your loved ones and you are currently doing well physically and psychologically.
I like your WOTY. Personally I have decided to go with a motto “Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Kind”.
Veronica Lee
That is a fantastic word.
Mine is surrender … as in surrender all to God and to do His will.
Happy Tuesday, Leslie!
Michelle
Yours was a busy year in spite of Covid! Our 2021 was good. I was so grateful for the vaccines. In July, my husband and I took a cross country road trip from Las Vegas to Charlotte, NC to visit my step-daughter and her boyfriend. They had relocated from Phoenix due to his job. And then we ended up moving to Asheville, NC in September. (I swear I’m never moving again. LOL!) I’m still painting the interior as my fibromyalgia allows.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
It was a busy year. 2022 is starting off a bit slower as we have been sicky-poo!! But it has given us a chance to rest!!
Jill
You had a lot of ups and downs in 2021 but I know 2022 will be the best year yet! Love flow for your word! My word is connections – focusing on the relationships I have.
Jill – Doused in Pink
Amy Johnson
You certainly had quite the year. How was my 2021? Personally it was good. But I find it horrendous on the political and world stage and I’m worried for 2022.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Amy, I am worried about 2022, too. It isn’t starting out well with the economy in the trash, and the worries over Russia and Ukraine, and this endless virus.
Susanne
Interesting to read your recap of 2021, sounds like you had lots of good family time but I’m sorry to hear about all the health issues.
Flow is a lovely word of the year! There are so many aspects of it and everything can be used for something positive.
My 2021 was also a mixed bag but I generally remember it as a terrible year where the bad overshadowed the good. Everything – myself included – was chaos so for 2022 I’ve chosen CALM as my word of the year. Keep calm despite troubles, react on things being calm, creating calm, and so on.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Hope calm finds you and yours and me and mine in 2022. I thought about going with calm, too. But so much of life is beyond our control. I can try to react more calmly to life but I really need to learn to just go with the flow and not get so wrapped around the hub when life is chaotic. Ha!! We shall see how that goes.
Kellyann C Rohr
Great post and even better WOTY. I like how you pinpointed the important happenings of every month; I should do this. What a great way to look back.
Cheers to a good 2022!
xo,
Kellyann
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you. I really write posts like these and the Sentence a Day posts for myself!! I can keep track of what happened when and look back for dates when I need to.
Christie Hawkes
Hello Leslie. What an eventful year you’ve had. When you look at it condensed here in one post, you get a real feel for the whirlwind of 2021. Thanks for the shout out about my WOTY post. As you noted, my word is connected, and so far I’ve used it in my morning affirmations, journaled about it some, and chosen some quotes on the subject for inspiration. I love your word, flow, and in fact that was my first ever word of the year! Here’s to 2022!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Great minds!! I am happy to know you have chosen the word flow in for a past WOTY. Hoping I can begin to flow rather than bounce around from one problem to the next. I look forward to following along in the ways you ‘connect’ this year.
Lysha
Love the word. I’m hoping this year is better for everyone! Continued prayers for your mom.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you. Hope I can achieve some sense of flow in my life this year.
Deborah Cook
Wow, what an amazing year – filled with positives and negatives I guess. It’s great to be able to identify the good when so much other (dare I say, bad) stuff is happening around the world.
Flow is an excellent word and I like that it can have multiple meanings.
Deb
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Ups and downs, you are so right. I hope I can remember to try to embrace my chosen word of the year. But not off to a great start.
Denyse Whelan
Oh my Leslie, my heart was in my mouth reading 2021….What a year. Honestly the lessons about controlling what you can and can’t were HARD. I hope your Mother is more settled. And congratulations on a new little person in your lives.
Thanks for the shout out about my ‘two’ words BE ME. Today I listened to a new to me book driving to and from my Dad’s place and I am going to write more about what I am learning now as a 72 year old “doer” learning to “be”.
It’s been great to see your post in the link up for Life This Week at Denyse Whelan Blogs.
I look forward to seeing you again next Monday if you have a post to share. Thanks so much. Denyse.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you so much for the kind message and the warm words. I will try to remember to link up again next Monday. I am a real ding bat and can’t keep things straight but this is just the kind of thing I need to add to my agenda!!
Laura Bambrick
It really was a rough year for you and your family health-wise but I truly hope and pray amazing things are ahead for you all in 2022!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you so much!! This year is looking better already.