And so here we are, on the first day of 2022, in a totally different place than where we started 2021, and yet also in the exact same place: at home in isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

So many changes this year, and at the same time, not enough. Like everyone else in the world, I am suffering from pandemic fatigue. And like most everyone else–particularly in the U.S. and U.K.–I am also suffering from this especially contagious strain of COVID. Over Christmas–the cheek of this virus!

This past year has been a big one for our family in terms of life changes. There have been some happy moments: reunions with family and friends in America; getting vaccinated; falling in love with our new (but old) house (which is still a work in progress); our summer trip to Italy (to-be-blogged…sometime soon…ish).

But 2021 also had plenty of moments that were frustrating, and challenging, and disappointing, and just plain sad. After the pain of 2020, everyone had high hopes for 2021, but I daresay it fell short of expectations.

What will 2022 bring? Will we still be in this pandemic purgatory a year from now, in this state of constant anxiety over a virus that started in 2019? Will kids be able to attend school in person, without masks and weekly nose swabs? Will we finally feel settled in our new/old life back in Baltimore? Will I find a job and manage a decent balance of work and motherhood? Will M’s startup business venture yield more successes than setbacks? Mostly, I’d just like to know: Will the happy moments outweigh the sad?

My daughter’s new Magic 8 Ball has no answers for my questions. No one does. Perhaps all we can do is try to find the joy in the small moments, be more grateful for all we have, take better care of our bodies and minds and planet, and try to be more compassionate to others, particularly the ones making choices we perceive as being the “wrong” ones. We are all just trying to make some lemonade out of these lemons, right?

So I lift my glass of (mostly tasteless) lemonade to you, and everyone around the world who has had a rough couple of years, and toast to your health and your happiness in 2022. May this year bring you peace, wherever you may be.