2021 Year Review

 Somehow 2021 feels like a bigger blur than the infamous year of 2020. 

I know that a lot of that is because I was in a huge brain fog the first half of the year! Truly. I didn't know at the time but later found out that I have Hasimotos, an auto immune disease that attacks your thyroid. It really wrecked havoc on my life. Physically I was SO tired, enough so that I was researching vitamins and all this stuff, which I NEVER do. And then I gained a significant amount of weight for my body, in a way I never have before. I was itchy and cold (but then again, I'm always cold haha.) But what was worse was the mental side. I felt depressed but in a different way than postpartum stuff. I was so numb and disconnected. I kept asking Buck "But really though, what is the point of life?" I just couldn't connect to it anymore. I didn't care about much. And I kept forgetting things and I honestly didn't even know how to talk anymore, and normally I'm pretty chatty. It was SO strange. It hurt my confidence, my marriage, my spirituality, my mothering, my friendships, my obligations- everything. At the time I thought it was the medication I was on for depression and so I had to go off of that, which ended up being a really bad time, but I was excited to feel better. But then after the withdrawals of that... I still wasn't feeling great. I finally went into the doctor and it took a few weeks of blood tests to finally get the diagnosis. I am THRILLED to report that after that I got the medication and, while it did take several weeks to really kick in, once it was working- it really worked! I felt more like myself than I have in years. Without any other medication. Just the thyroid stuff. So the second part of the year has been so much better!

Winta and Haben also had a lot going on and both of them moved out. Winta moved out the middle of June and Haben moved out the end of September. Winta started an English program at a local college and Haben started adult high school up in SLC. We also had Buck's parents come and live with us in our basement for five months. (Which, by the way, really did go well and we still like each other after that 😉) But still, there was a lot of adjusting to do this year in our home, and a lot of people leaving from our kids perspectives.

Anyway! Those are some reasons it was a blur.

And of course, these are only some of the things from the year. But they feel worth mentioning. I kept meaning to write some posts about those things! So, yes. There was still so much beauty and goodness in the year, there always is. Now to share a few highlights of the beautiful things of the year. 💖 I always like to let the photos tell the story best.