We recently received a number of end of the year Christmas postcards, where various friends or family highlighted their year in a few words and a few photos. With some envy, I often ask myself why can’t I be content with such brevity. Why am I compelled each year to spend days, hours, weeks writing and formatting a thorough Year in Review, a book in essence, that probably few will take time to read. Am I doing it more for others, or for myself? For the present day, or for a day when a distant descendant of mine wipes the dust off this book in curiosity? Is this creative search for significance healthy or too self-centered, needing validation. My best answer is “Yes” to all. I sometimes think of the word “extraordinary”. While we apply it to the exceptional outliers, it could also be read as “extra ordinary” something notable for being so common and familiar. Perhaps an oxymoron, but I feel like both are simultaneously true of my life, anyone’s life really, and that’s why I write and archive – to extol the every day. For the 2nd year in a row, I’ve composed it into a book to print and keep at our house, but the online version is visible here. (If the frame below doesn’t load properly, you can also view it here: 2021 Year In Review – online Canva link)
For previous Year in Reviews, check out the Family category!