Day 2281 | 2021 Accomplishments

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So…2021 happened. I’m not sure I’d go back to relieve this past year over again if I had the choice, but some pretty great things came out of it. I got to spend oodles of time with my favorite people (but I also missed spending time with lots of my other favorite people). My family and I stayed healthy amidst a global pandemic. We’ve got jobs that we enjoy and a beautiful house that we’re thankful for every single day (not exaggerating). I could create a list of the hard parts of 2021, too, but we’ll focus on the bright-side, right?

In the spirit of ushering in the new by reflecting on the past, here’s a list of…

My Favorite Accomplishments of 2021

  1. Fostered six cats. Fostering is kind of the best, by the way. I'm hoping we can start up again once we figure out if our bun is interested in furry friends.

  2. Went gluten-free for three months and then happily (and healthily) added it back in without a problem. Woohoo!

  3. Was vaccinated and boosted to keep me and the folks around me healthy.

  4. Began substitute teaching at the boys' school.

  5. Started seeing a therapist every month. I highly recommend.

  6. Started paddleboarding. It's kind of my thing now. 

  7. Successfully marketed eight book festival events. 

  8. Got a bunny. You remember Flopsy (pictured above).

  9. Read 27 books. My goal was one a month...I blew that one out of the water! I'll post a list of some of my favorites soon.

  10. Wrote 230 blog posts. Not quite a photo a day (my vision from seven years ago), but not too shabby. 

Day 2273 | A Final Book Tally

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Drumroll, please…the boys and I are excited to announce that we collected 291 books for kids around the Chippewa Valley. We didn’t meet our goal, but sometimes it’s important to set goals too high to accomplish, you know. Growth mindset or something. Haha.

We’re once again grateful, speechless, and inspired by the generosity everyone showed us. In this season (not only the season of Christmas but also our season of life with little ones), it’s been so important for us over the last two years of doing this project to really feel and internalize the importance of giving back. As you know, reading is something that fills hours upon hours of our days and to think we could give even a little bit of that joy to a friend who doesn’t have the luxury or opportunity for books in their house—it just warms our hearts. I hope it does the same for you.

From the bottom of our warm hearts to you–wherever you might be–thank you. THANK YOU. Not only did you make this a special Christmas project for us, more importantly, you made this a special Christmas for a child who will receive a new book of their very own this year.