At the end of every school year and every calendar year, I write a recap. I love the freshness of a new year, and I think it’s important to reflect upon what you learned in the previous year. That being said, I am a little late with my recap this year because life was crazy busy (see below). I’m going to keep it brief this year since I am writing this so late, but I will offer some context. As usual with my recap, the TV shows, movies, and books on this list are not specific to this year; they are just things I watched/read this year. The music I selected, however, is specific to 2021.

Top 3 Personal Moments

1. We had a baby! (Is there anything more significant than that?)
2. I got to be a part of two important marriages:
   1. My brother got married to my absolutely perfect sister-in-law! (This was a long-time coming and had been delayed both by the pandemic and a series of extremely unfortunate acts of fate/God.)
   2. My sister-in-law met, got engaged, and got married to my awesome new brother-in-law. (This was exciting to watch since it was all a whirlwind romance!)
3. We bought a condo and moved!

3 Things I Learned About Parenting

1. No one actually knows anything. It’s mostly speculation except when it’s not. When it’s not, avoid Google and listen to your pediatrician. When it is, consider your options then go with your gut. Parent instincts are real, and you know what’s best for your baby.
2. Baby sleep is an eternal mystery that can only be mastered by a inexplicable combination of sleep training techniques, Instagram influencer advice, and random guesswork. The only thing I know to be certain is this: babies who go to bed early get up early; babies who go to bed late also get up early.
3. Unless someone is actively harming their child, if you don’t agree with their parenting, shut up.

My Top 3 Books (This is always the hardest category to narrow down! I read 46 books this year.)

1. The Other Wes Moore – Wes Moore
2. Normal People – Sally Rooney
3. Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid

My Top 3 Movies (Normally, this category is pretty easy but, as part of last year’s New Year’s resolutions, Kyle and I began working through AFI’s top 100 list. We watched a lot of good movies this year.)

1. High Noon (1952)
2. An American in Paris (1951)
3. Platoon (1986)

My Top 3 TV Shows (I didn’t watch a lot of TV this year, but the little I did watch was great!)

1. The Chair
2. Cobra Kai
3. American Vandal (but only season 1)

My Top 3 Albums (I also didn’t listen to as much music this year as I normally do, but I jammed to these albums multiple times.)

1. Sour – Olivia Rodrigo
2. When You See Yourself – Kings of Leon
3. Montero – Lil Nas X

Good luck out there in 2022! Stay safe, and stay healthy!

–M