Balance in 2021: December

Hard to believe it, but it's the last Tuesday of 2021 and time for my last One Little Word reflection. 2021 was only my second year with a word; when I chose my word for 2020, I obviously couldn't have anticipated the chaotic and strange year that would come or that my word would turn out to be so meaningful in the face of so much uncertainty. For 2021, I knew that things were still likely to be unsettled, even as I hoped they'd be more "normal," so I chose Balance as my word as way to remind myself to keep all things in perspective and all things in moderation.

While my choice of word was initially chosen with things like work/life balance in mind. But as the year has gone on, I've come to see how there are so many other aspects of life that require a give and take: my daily schedule and when I do certain daily things, how I choose what to read, how I allocate my crafting time. In this last month of year, and especially these last two weeks of the year, I've realized that an important part of Balance for me is physically getting away from my usual daily life. In a typical year (i.e., one not in a global pandemic), I'd take a few trips, though usually some of those would be working trips -- like the trip to Rhinebeck. This trip that we are on now, which had been an annual trip since 2011 until last year, is one that I've found I've really come to rely on to recover from the year that has been and recharge for the year ahead. I think I've found it to be particularly so this year, not just because we couldn't travel last year but because home has become my office, and physically getting away from my house for an extended period of time has allowed me to finally feel like I'm getting away from work for a bit. And that has been very freeing and rejuvenating.

I think the biggest lesson I'm taking away from Balance is that I don't have to demand perfection from myself all the time. That is a difficult thing for a perfectionist to reckon with, and it's one I'll likely still fight with all my life. I expect a lot from myself, and no one is harder on me if I don't meet a deadline or do something perfectly. The reality is, though, that no one else is expecting that perfection, and keeping Balance in mind has made me realize that while there are some things that can be done perfectly, the converse of that is that many things don't have to be or perhaps even shouldn't be.

Case in point: my 21 in 2021 list. I haven't checked all things off the list, and that's okay! When I created the list, I wanted a variety of things that would encourage me to experience many different facets of life. Some would be easy to accomplish and others would be more of a challenge. I had to change some of them as circumstances changed. And some of the things I didn't check off the list are things I still want to do and will do, but they're probably better done without a ticking clock in the background.

I'm grateful to those of you who have been on the OLW journey with me this year and especially to Carolyn for hosting our monthly link-ups and giving us prompts throughout the year. I'd thought I'd reveal my word for 2022 today, but on further reflection, I've decided to wait. I'm taking this week to wrap up 2021, and next week we'll start things anew.