I came across these 10 prompts for end of year self reflection and thought it would be fun to answer them in real time on this post. David and I have our State of the Family date night planned for either tonight or tomorrow night and I’m planning on incorporating some of these questions into the conversation as well.

I invite you to do these for yourself! I wasn’t sure about some of these questions but giving myself time to dive in and explore them was a helpful practice before setting some new year goals.

What was it like in the beginning?

Thank goodness I have a blog because I honestly don’t remember. Perusing the archives I can see that I set new year intentions. Ironically a lot of them are similar to the goals I’ve had swirling around in my head lately for 2022. This tells me it’s a seasonal drive I feel, and this year I need to create more concrete, measurable goals to see if I’ve really made progress.

We celebrated David turning 40. A couple years ago we had a different idea of how we’d be celebrating that milestone, but an evening at our favorite, The Grove Park Inn (and surprise visitors) made it special!

I focused on trying to create some helpful and more evergreen content, like tips for a more successful reading aloud experience, to coincide with my new site redesign (which was a huge project but worth it, as many of you have said it’s easier to navigate now- with the “jump to latest post” button). We went skiing at Deer Valley, which we decided we will do again this year, but for just a peek into what was it like on a normal day, I’m glad I did a day in the life post with my 9 year old and 6 year old.

What worked well and what didn’t?

What worked well… switching back to a majority of more conversational/journal style posting towards the end of 2021 worked well. I enjoy writing these posts and according to page views, you enjoy reading them.

Other things that worked well: Joining a homeschool co-op closer to home. Meal planning. Short term rental investing.

What didn’t? I got too sucked into social media. I had an intention to set boundaries and I didn’t, resulting in too much of my time and mental energy being sucked into my phone and away from my kids.

What were the most important conversations and connections?

They mostly happened within the four walls of my home. The kids are at fun ages for exploring real life concepts like investing (start up capital for a lemonade stand for example), giving back (Feed NC is a growing focus of ours), and learning to be more bold in thinking for themselves (letting them take the lead in some decision making).

What was the best entertainment?

Freaking Tiktok. It’s such a happier vibe than a lot of other social media (but maybe that just means I need to weed out my feed) and the dances and funny animal videos provided me with hours of entertainment. Fortunately I realized it was cumulatively hours, so I’ve gone cold turkey on Tiktok for the past few weeks. Not sure if I’ll open it again. Perhaps I’m better at abstaining rather than moderating.

Who mattered?

My family. My friends. You. Writing the journal style posts has helped me feel more connected to you. The replies and messages I receive make it feel more like a conversation, and I’m grateful for that.

What changed?

Personally I feel like I was still healing from the trauma of losing my dad. His celebration of life service was both painful and healing. Since then I feel like I’ve been able to step forward, though there still isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him.

On a more surface level, we got a puppy! That’s been a huge adjustment, but one we are perhaps starting to settle into.

Blog-wise, I’ve already mentioned, but a return to my roots and original writing style. I hope to figure out how to blend helpful content with journal style writing.

Where did you find happiness and fulfillment?

Traveling. We had some really incredible trips in 2021. We skied Deer Valley, spent a family girls weekend in Asheville, had a wild river rafting adventure in Utah, almost fell into a bowl at Arches National Park, went ATVing in West Virginia, loaded up the car for an epic cross country road trip with highlight being Custer State Park, a stay at Lone Mountain Ranch in Montana, exploring Yellowstone, spending time in Grand Teton and Jackson, and finally getting to walk on the beach in Wilmington NC. See all travel posts here.

Travel presents all kinds of challenges that I’ve seen firsthand make not only myself grow, but the kids as well. It provides moments of awe, strengthens connections, and expands perspective.

What did you learn?

I’ve learned to be more compassionate for others’ perspective and listen to understand, while also giving myself permission to form my own opinions.

I’ve also learned how when I feel overwhelmed with not being able to help in a situation, that a seemingly small, more local contribution can feel big.

On a more surface level, I learned to cast off while knitting.

What is actually ending?

I’m searching and not coming up with much for this one.

What do you want more of?

Real life living. Travel, game nights, laughter, outside time, connection, authenticity, travel, learning, levity.

How about you?

Have you had a chance to look back at the year, to consider what worked and what didn’t?