Holiday greetings to you from Nova Scotia (where, FYI, most of the province had a green Christmas). 2020, the first year of the pandemic, felt like a long 12 months to me. 2021 was another challenging year but felt “normal” in its speediness. Here I am, surprised to find myself at the end of another year already.
So, what to report?
There were two main constants in 2021: hiking and yoga. The frequent short hikes (~2-hour hikes, 3-4x/week) with a small group of friends have been my main mental health therapy all year. This was the year I finally got back consistently into yoga (something I’ve done on and off since the 1990’s)—with the ease of online videos rather than going to a studio, I now have a daily practice.
It’s been many years since I bicycled regularly out west but, after some initial resistance, I got into the fitness aspect and enjoyed seeing improvement in my cardio. The roads are still not bike-friendly around here (fortunately, I also have a long rails-to-trails option) so I am certainly never relaxed when cycling like I am when on foot on a hiking path.
The sangha I belong to continues to offer online meditation most days and I have been grateful for this service since the beginning of the pandemic. It sounds strange, but I get a great sense of social connection joining this group (most people are in the US) even though it’s online.
For BITNF, I had fun writing the travel tangents this year—research, prodded memories, choosing photos, looking at maps and the NPS sites, and putting together the itinerary starting from a few scribbled lines in a tattered notebook. I also loved getting the feedback that readers were enjoying these posts! I still have a few more in mind to write in 2022.
I continued enjoying paid freelance technical writing/editing work this year. And what was new to me was jumping into climate activism and organization, something I plan to continue with in the new year.
Of course, the summer was the busiest time of the year (by both pandemic and introvert standards): visiting family and friends, a few stays in the tiny house, a couple short camping trips. The farthest I ventured from home was New Brunswick, one province over to the northwest. I’m not making the promise (yet) to never fly again, but between the carbon emissions, COVID-19, passenger rage, and my OCish tendencies, I don’t see myself getting on a plane anytime soon. I’m hoping 2022 is the year I do another road trip—a repeat of my 2019 trip to Ontario, the US, and Acadia National Park would be swell.
Right now, it feels like the province is bracing to see in January the impact of Omicron and holiday gatherings. Fingers crossed I can get my booster next month. Please take care of yourselves and take care of your others. Wishing you all happiness and peace in 2022, Sheri and Enid The Cat.
References and related links:
- Sangha: a Buddhist community.
- NPS: US National Park Service.
- OC: obsessive-compulsive.
- holiday note 2020 (post #153)
Marlo Ferguson says
Happy New Year Sheri!
Glad to see that you’re keeping busy with hiking and yoga (not so much the meditation – as discussed, I’d lose my everylovin mind). We should do a zoom call soon since we can’t get together in person. Here’s to a better 2022!
Marlo
back is the new forward says
Hope you all had a great holiday! Chat with you soon, Sheri
Cousin E says
No chance you are going to get anywhere close to that chair! She is a beauty.
back is the new forward says
I get the comfy chair first thing in the morning and enjoy my coffee there, but after that she claims it more than me : – ). She also enjoys three cat-specific nests.