Things That Happened...Things To Come
I'm not going to do the standard reflection on goals and such from 2021 and then goal setting for 2022 post...those never seem to turn out well for me. And it seems really ambitious for a re-named and hopefully revamped little blog of my musings. I figure the less pressure I put on this the better it might turn out.
So... I'm just going to go over some things that happened in 2021 and some things I'm looking forward to in 2022...
2021 brought much of the same...teaching in person in a weird environment with occasional 10-day forrays into remote learning, summer vacation which was mainly just a break from school, going back into the classroom with...questionable ways of keeping us there. But there were some highlights.
January - I joined a new church, one that feels like it fits me much better. It's not perfect - I don't think there is such a thing - but it's a place where I feel at home to grow.
February - I took time over Winter Break and went to Disney World, which was fabulous, even with COVID protocols in place. Definitely needed that break!!
Finished out the school year and said good-bye to all but 2 of the kiddos in my class as most of them hit Middle School this fall. In May I got to start back at my beloved OrangeTheory Fitness as the "must wear a mask while working out" changed to "mask optional while working out with proof of vaccination". I'd tried it in the mask and I felt like I was drowning/being water boarded, so having the option made it possible to go back.
July saw another trip to Disney World during which I turned 50. I've often quipped "I don't know what I thought 50 was going to feel like, but I don't feel like it!" It was a great trip, and on my birthday I got to see ALL the baby animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom - Greta the hippo, Ranger the rhino, the flamboyance of baby flamingos, and the not-yet-named but one week old baby gorilla (it's a girl and her name is Ada). Got to meet some friends I've only interacted with online which was awesome as well.
August saw me going home to visit my parents. My sister had just headed back to the cruise ship she works on, so I missed her. Since I'd been run/walking for something to do when I couldn't do OTF, I had a "regitration accident" and signed up for a race in Nashville over my Spring Break. Two pretty rough falls while out run/walking - the latter resulting in my having to take a 30-day hiatus from OTF while I saw an orthopedist and had my first MRI to rule out a fracture in my wrist. No fracture - just some bone bruising and (leave it to me) inflammation of the sheath around some tendons rather than the tendons themselves. So running and I are broken up again - back to OTF unlimited for me.
I've been back in the classroom since September, even with cases rising and questionable testing practices (like when they showed up they might get 4 kids from my site based on percentages). So far, so good and all my tests have been negative.
I was able to be home with Mom and Daddy for Christmas, which was great. Came back on Wednesday.
And now we're into 2022. Kicked off the year with my first OTF class back, which felt great!! I had some plans which various cruising protocols (and the CDC which seems to have it in for the cruise industry if you ask me) are changing. I just couldn't take the chance of getting to Miami and testing positive (though I'm fully Moderna vaxxed and boosted) and being stuck. So the trip plans have become...
Feb Break - Disneyland!! I'm super excited about this one!! I've only been to Disneyland once - in 2011 for the Half Marathon weekend, so we didn't spend a ton of time in the parks...plus things were SOOOOO different then. Most looking forward to Avengers Campus...and especially Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout!! I've begun to love most of Marvel, but the Guardians were my gateway and they will always have a special place in my heart!!
August has expanded from *just* Walt Disney World - gotta be there for all their 50th celebration stuff since that hadn't started yet when *I* had my 50th celebration!! - to a 3-night cruise on the new Disney Wish followed by time at Walt Disney World. I'm tossing around thoughts about the post-cruise part...I could cut a couple of days (which would have been arrival and Disney Springs anyway) and upgrade my resort to a Deluxe one, I could keep it as I've got it, especially since the cruise is already paid for (I couldn't cancel my Feb cruise without losing my deposit, but I could move it to a new cruise - which is the 3-day Wish), OR I could keep the days and downgrade my resort to a Value just to save a little bit since the DL trip is now added on. Even if I decide in a week, it's likely to change - thankfully my travel agent Jacki York with is super patient with me and all my changes. (She's the one who presented me with other ideas than cancelling the scheduled February cruise and losing the deposit money! She's awesome that way - and in lots of other ways!)
Beyond that, I plan to keep up with my OTF, buckle down on my WW, and keep up my reading, movie and theater watching, and church activities. And trying to survive this third crazy school year in a row.
Here's hoping 2022 is at least decent to us all!
So... I'm just going to go over some things that happened in 2021 and some things I'm looking forward to in 2022...
2021 brought much of the same...teaching in person in a weird environment with occasional 10-day forrays into remote learning, summer vacation which was mainly just a break from school, going back into the classroom with...questionable ways of keeping us there. But there were some highlights.
January - I joined a new church, one that feels like it fits me much better. It's not perfect - I don't think there is such a thing - but it's a place where I feel at home to grow.
February - I took time over Winter Break and went to Disney World, which was fabulous, even with COVID protocols in place. Definitely needed that break!!
Finished out the school year and said good-bye to all but 2 of the kiddos in my class as most of them hit Middle School this fall. In May I got to start back at my beloved OrangeTheory Fitness as the "must wear a mask while working out" changed to "mask optional while working out with proof of vaccination". I'd tried it in the mask and I felt like I was drowning/being water boarded, so having the option made it possible to go back.
July saw another trip to Disney World during which I turned 50. I've often quipped "I don't know what I thought 50 was going to feel like, but I don't feel like it!" It was a great trip, and on my birthday I got to see ALL the baby animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom - Greta the hippo, Ranger the rhino, the flamboyance of baby flamingos, and the not-yet-named but one week old baby gorilla (it's a girl and her name is Ada). Got to meet some friends I've only interacted with online which was awesome as well.
August saw me going home to visit my parents. My sister had just headed back to the cruise ship she works on, so I missed her. Since I'd been run/walking for something to do when I couldn't do OTF, I had a "regitration accident" and signed up for a race in Nashville over my Spring Break. Two pretty rough falls while out run/walking - the latter resulting in my having to take a 30-day hiatus from OTF while I saw an orthopedist and had my first MRI to rule out a fracture in my wrist. No fracture - just some bone bruising and (leave it to me) inflammation of the sheath around some tendons rather than the tendons themselves. So running and I are broken up again - back to OTF unlimited for me.
I've been back in the classroom since September, even with cases rising and questionable testing practices (like when they showed up they might get 4 kids from my site based on percentages). So far, so good and all my tests have been negative.
I was able to be home with Mom and Daddy for Christmas, which was great. Came back on Wednesday.
And now we're into 2022. Kicked off the year with my first OTF class back, which felt great!! I had some plans which various cruising protocols (and the CDC which seems to have it in for the cruise industry if you ask me) are changing. I just couldn't take the chance of getting to Miami and testing positive (though I'm fully Moderna vaxxed and boosted) and being stuck. So the trip plans have become...
Feb Break - Disneyland!! I'm super excited about this one!! I've only been to Disneyland once - in 2011 for the Half Marathon weekend, so we didn't spend a ton of time in the parks...plus things were SOOOOO different then. Most looking forward to Avengers Campus...and especially Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout!! I've begun to love most of Marvel, but the Guardians were my gateway and they will always have a special place in my heart!!
August has expanded from *just* Walt Disney World - gotta be there for all their 50th celebration stuff since that hadn't started yet when *I* had my 50th celebration!! - to a 3-night cruise on the new Disney Wish followed by time at Walt Disney World. I'm tossing around thoughts about the post-cruise part...I could cut a couple of days (which would have been arrival and Disney Springs anyway) and upgrade my resort to a Deluxe one, I could keep it as I've got it, especially since the cruise is already paid for (I couldn't cancel my Feb cruise without losing my deposit, but I could move it to a new cruise - which is the 3-day Wish), OR I could keep the days and downgrade my resort to a Value just to save a little bit since the DL trip is now added on. Even if I decide in a week, it's likely to change - thankfully my travel agent Jacki York with is super patient with me and all my changes. (She's the one who presented me with other ideas than cancelling the scheduled February cruise and losing the deposit money! She's awesome that way - and in lots of other ways!)
Beyond that, I plan to keep up with my OTF, buckle down on my WW, and keep up my reading, movie and theater watching, and church activities. And trying to survive this third crazy school year in a row.
Here's hoping 2022 is at least decent to us all!
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