2022 was a good year for the Johnsons. Boy was it ever needed. It came on the heels of several REALLY hard years. We appreciated it and we enjoyed every minute of it. More please!!
2022 brought us:
-The dedication of the Victoria McClellan King Clinic in Sandpoint, Idaho.
-In January the COVID cases were so high due to the Omicron variant that the schools were doing everything they could do not to close. Every week was a three or four day weekend to try to help sick kids/teachers/substitutes have longer to recover.
-Those of us who met the requirements in our family got our COVID booster shots.
-The mask mandate was still in effect. Masks were still required everywhere in public.
-The kids were still wearing masks full time at school and while playing sports.
-The girls had to be tested regularly to play sports/dance. Bryn had to be tested 3 times a week for middle school sports. This was all done at school.
-Both Reilly and Hunter got COVID for the second time and both got a more severe case than the first time. They felt better after about 2 weeks. Thank goodness!
-I was asked to be a youth mentor in my stake in addition to my calling which continued to be the 1st counselor in the Stake Primary Presidency.
-I'm still a vendor at Midtown Market and doing well!
-Bryn played basketball and was on the middle school varsity team.
-Bryn won the sportsmanship award.
-Kameron continued to serve in the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission.
-Kameron was made a District Leader.
-Kameron and Ailey both got accepted to college.
-Kameron and Ailey both made the decision to attend BYU-Idaho.
-Ailey was team captain on her high school dance team.
-Ailey performed at numerous games and dance competitions.
-Ailey was the chicken at Rubber Chicken. She loved it and was sad that it was her last time.
-Ailey was honored at a half-time for Senior Night at a basketball game.
-Ailey continued to work as a server at an assisted-living facility.
-After 681 days of working from home, Tyler went back to his office full-time at the end of January. He was thrilled to be back!
-He was still serving as the 1st counselor in the bishopric of our ward.
-In February Russia invaded Ukraine and war continues to this day. Heartbreaking.
-Tyler turned 51!
-It was the Winter Olympics. No one seemed to care. Including us.
-Bryn made 7th grade honor roll!
-In March the mask mandate for WA State was lifted and we were so glad to rip that thing off of our faces!
-In April Kameron got transferred to Shoreline, MN. He and his fellow Minnesota missionaries finally got permission to street contact for the first time. Kameron stayed in Shoreline for the rest of his mission.
-Ailey went on her Senior Trip to Florida and had the time of her life!!
-Beverly turned 3!
-Tyler, Bryn, and I went on a super fun spring break trip to Seattle!
-A tree came down on our deck in a windstorm and destroyed part of it while we were on spring break.
-In April Reilly and Hunter got engaged!! So happy for them!
-Bryn turned 13!! She is officially a teenager!
-Bryn ran track.
-Ailey went to Prom twice!
-Tyler went on a TON of camp outs with the young men.
-In May some of the rest of us got COVID. It SUCKED!!!! Tyler got it for the 2nd time and had a milder case. I got it for the first time and it kicked my butt. I lost my sense of taste and smell. It's still not back 100%. Bryn got it for the first time and I know that Ailey had it too even though she weirdly kept testing negative but had all of the same symptoms.
-Tyler and I celebrated our 27th anniversary!
-Hunter turned 27! Hunter is exactly as old as our marriage! LOL.
-Ailey marched in the Lilac Parade with the dance team.
-Ailey had her last official dance team performance and ended her tenure as a 4 year member of the dance team and dance team captain. Her coach honored her at Encore Night.
-We did a full bathroom remodel. It turned out great!!
-Uvalde, Texas school shooting. Enough. 19 children dead and 2 teachers. Enough.
-Ailey and Kam registered for college.
-I turned 50!
-Ailey graduated from Seminary.
-Ailey had her last high school choir concert.
-Bryn had her end-of-the-year orchestra concert.
-I backed into the Camry and dented the heck out of it.
-Ailey had her graduation party.
-Ailey graduated from high school!!!
-Ailey started attending the YSA ward.
-Ailey got a new job and started working at Rite-Aid.
-Tyler got a colonoscopy! LOL.
-Ailey turned 18!
-Tyler and I went on an incredible and dreamy trip to South Carolina (and North Carolina and Georgia)!!
-Bryn went to Girls Camp! She was a 2nd year.
-We ripped up the carpeting in our family room and put in new flooring! It looks so good!
-Yellowstone closed for a bit due to historic flooding.
-The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
-Kameron completed his 2 year mission!! Yay!!
-Reilly and Hunter announced that Reilly was pregnant with our first grandchild!! Woohoo!!
-We found out that our first grandchild is a BOY!
-Ailey was almost abducted from Rite-Aid. Terrifying!!!!!!
-Tyler and I got our second COVID boosters.
-Bryn had volleyball camp.
-Tyler, Kameron, and I flew to Utah to visit family and then headed to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas! So fun!! We visited with Tyler's mom, his aunt and uncle and cousins, my dad, Kirk and Meki, and their kids.
-We spent as much time as possible on the boat or in the water!
-Tyler and Kameron repaired the deck! They did a great job!
-Tyler had some hemorrhaging in his retina in one eye. He had to start shots in his eye. Not fun.
-We had an incredibly fun summer with all of the kids in town!
-Tyler got called to be a stake high councilor and got released from the bishopric.
-We had an AMAZING family vacay at Hayden Lake!! It was perfection.
-A new school year started!
-Bryn is an 8th grader!!
-Queen Elizabeth died.
-We all headed to Rexburg, Idaho to drop off Ailey and Kameron at college.
-Ailey and Kameron are college freshmen at BYU-Idaho!
-We adjusted to life with only one child at home.
-Bryn ran cross-country.
-Bryn started another year of piano and cello.
-The 3 year anniversary of my mom's passing came and went. So much has changed in 3 years.
-The college kids got off to a rocky start.
-Tyler and I took a quick trip to Rexburg in October for some course correction and to switch cars with them.
-Some huge changes were announced in General Conference that pertained to For the Strength of Youth. They were much needed! Bring on the piercings, tattoos, and shoulders. LOL.
-Bryn got braces.
-We found out that Ailey has asthma and is basically allergic to everything.
-Ailey found out that she has a deviated septum.
-Bryn participated in the Stake Road Show.
-Bryn played volleyball. She was on the middle school varsity team.
-Ailey was sick from before Halloween to Thanksgiving with a nasty combo of mono and strep throat.
-The first anniversary of my father-in-law's passing came around. Judie has decided to remain in Moroni for the foreseeable future.
-Kameron got called to be a Sunday School teacher in his student ward.
-The college kids chilled out and settled down.
-Reilly turned 26!
-Kameron turned 22!
-Tyler's eye situation improved significantly!
-Tyler got asked to be on the Standards Committee at work.
-We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving on Lake Coeur d' Alene!
-Kameron and Ailey traveled to Salt Lake to spend Thanksgiving with Kirk and his family. They had a great time!
-Kameron got called to be the Elders Quorum President in his student ward.
-I applied to BYU.
-My father got his temple recommend and attended the temple for the first time in 48 years.
-Kameron and Ailey finished their first semester of college.
-Ailey and Kameron came home for the holidays and we were so happy to have them home!!
-Bryn had her winter orchestra concert.
-My Mom's birthday came around. She would have been 74.
-Reilly had her baby shower. It was a special day!
-Ailey got her wisdom teeth removed. She was cray-cray!
-We found out that Ailey needs glasses.
-We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with the entire family home for the holidays!!
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We started out 2022 on the heels of an incredibly rough year. I was feeling down and dreary. I felt like things would never improve. 2021 took a toll. I remember Tyler encouraging me last January to "focus on small wins." That was really good advice. It worked.
This year felt like a huge blessing to our family in so many ways. No heart surgeries and no major health scares. COVID was on the decline. We returned to work, school, and our regular social lives. Kameron completed his 2 year mission. Reilly and Hunter got engaged. A new baby is on the way. We also had a lot of really fun travel. Kameron and Ailey were starting college. So many good things! It felt like we had moved into a more peaceful place in our lives.
Tyler's work was back to normal and he's enjoyed being back in the office with his co-workers and friends. He had some new opportunities to get involved in different ways at work. He is enjoying his new calling in the stake and learning a lot. I've enjoyed life going back to normal with everyone back at work and school. Until writing this review I had forgotten just what things were like at the start of 2022 and how far we have actually come. Just the improvements with COVID alone. Wow. I've been able to focus on my business more with everyone gone during the day. It has done well this year despite our country's economic challenges. The economy has taken a toll on small businesses. I am grateful that my little business has kept plugging along and has been a source of extra funds and a lot of enjoyment. I've stayed busy with my calling and have learned so much about how to serve others in different ways. I have also enjoyed being part of stake leadership and learning how the stake operates and being able to visit all of the different wards. I've loved seeing friends more as COVID lessened.
Extended family estrangement continues. It bothers me less and less. My life without my sisters and others actually feels normal now and less like a loss. My kids are in a good place with it too. They've accepted it and moved on. It's been quiet and calm. I was thinking the other day about what if reconciliation magically occurred and wrongs were acknowledged and righted. Could I go back to all of it? All of them? No. As of right now my answer is no. I couldn't. I wouldn't. Too much has transpired. There isn't anyone gone from my life that has left much of a hole. With the exception of my mom, of course, but she didn't leave by choice. It made me realize that despite certain family members being there physically they weren't ever really THERE for me in any other way. My network of aunts and uncles and cousins...even less...if anything at all. I could have seen that years ago if I would have really looked hard enough. I'm weary of trying to hold onto relationships with people that don't seem to truly want a relationship. I don't feel the need to appear for people who are indifferent to my presence. I don't feel the need to prove my worth anymore with how kind, truthful, loving, and supportive I am. For people who don't assume good intent or who are actively looking for anything amiss in me, Tyler, or our kids; I release you. I wish you well. We will keep on doing our thing with as much love, integrity and authenticity as possible.
I DO have such tremendous joy in the extended family that Tyler and I have created and that is still being created! Exciting!! I delight in our holidays and family gatherings now. I look forward to them. I could never go backward. I cannot wait for Tyler and I to be grandparents to a whole slew of grandkids. That will be even more incredible. That is why I (we) do the work. That is why I listen to my children's issues and don't dismiss them. That is why I (we) do the HARD work to keep communication flowing and for relationships to be safe for our children to have the freedom to express how they feel and vice versa.
What did I learn in 2022?
I learned to chose joy. I learned that small wins add up. I learned that family relationships change. Sometimes positively and sometimes negatively. I've learned to be okay with it. I've learned stop looking behind at what was/what could have been and enjoy the now and look forward to the future.
What do I want more of in 2023?
More good times. Fun with family and friends. Travel. Good health for all of us. The new adventure of being grandparents. Success in our careers and future endeavors. Continued healing. More joy! Fun adventures! Happiness for all of our children and for us.
What do I want to look different in 2023?
Less stress. Is that even possible? Less heaviness. I want to be in better shape physically. I want to feel stronger and more energized. I want to be finishing up my college degree.
What will I remember about 2022? It was a good year for the Johnsons!
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Goals:
I accomplished 77% of the goals that I set for 2022. That is up by 2% from last year. I am happy about that! Several big things were accomplished. That also felt really good! There is still room for improvement in 2023. I really want to see some progress in my fitness level. Tyler and I have some big goals that we have been working toward that I am hoping to see a lot of progress on and hopefully accomplishment. I also have some education and business goals that I look forward to working on. I feel good about all that I accomplished in 2022!!
Books:
My reading life continued to be slightly disappointing. My attention span continued to be brief in 2022. I got stuck behind books that weren't working for me and rather than DNF them I just stop reading all together. It really slowed my reading down and I lost motivation. I don't know why I struggle to DNF books but I do. Maybe it's because I have a reading goal for the year that I want to meet? That could be part of the problem. In 2022 I set a reading goal of 50 books and I met it. But I also didn't read that many books that I thought were fantastic. I think getting stuck behind boring books made it harder for me to find the books that I would truly love. Something to think about for 2023.
My favorite books of 2022:
1.) The Palace Papers by Tina Brown
2.) Live Wire by Kelly Ripa
3.) The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
4.) Apples Never Fall by Lianne Moriarty
5.) The Penderwicks (series) by Jeanne Birdsall
There were other 5 star reads this year but these are the ones that have stayed with me. I picked them due to pure reading enjoyment. All I wanted in 2022 was to be engrossed in a book and another world of great characters. I want to enjoy my reading! These are the books that did that for me. Two are nonfiction and one is a middle grade series. Still. These are the books that got me out of my reading slump and were pure pleasure reads.
I chose The Palace Papers because it was so interesting and I love the royals well not Harry and Megan so much anymore. I've read a lot of books about the royals and this was the best one that I've read so far. It was well-researched and had all kinds of stories that I hadn't heard before. It was absorbing and interesting. I loved it. I chose Live Wire by Kelly Ripa because it was hilarious. I loved listening to her funny stories about her life and laughing along with her. I chose The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman because it was absorbing and beautifully written. I love the world of the Owens family! I chose Apples Never Fall by Lianne Moriarty because it was fun!! This snarky family drama/mystery had me turning the pages as fast as I could. I chose The Penderwicks Series because...sigh...it's the Penderwicks. In 2022 I read book #3 The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, book #4 The Penderwicks in Spring which is my very favorite in the series, and the final book #5 The Penderwicks at Last. I adore this extraordinary series!
There were a few honorable mentions...The Plague and I by Betty MacDonald. This book was fascinating and I have thought about it A LOT. Also The Dream Daughter was a nice book to end the year. I enjoyed it and gave it as a Christmas gift.
Worst book of 2022:
The Sanitorium by Sarah Pearse
Book Stats:
Fiction: 23
Nonfiction: 27
Book Club Books: 11 (The other book I had already read.)
Classics: 4
Middle Grade: 4
YA: 3
Buddy Reads with Tyler: 8
(This might have been the year that we have read the most books together! Crazy!)
Favorite Social Media Follows:
1.) Tried and True Moms
2.) The Food Nanny
3.) Sharon Says So
4.) Half-Baked Harvest
5.) Mo News (Mosheh)
Favorite Apps:
1.) Instagram
2.) Goodreads
3.) TikTok ( I know...I got sucked in.)
4.) Spotify (I love making playlists!)
5.) Reddit (Thanks to the Royals)
Favorite Podcasts:
1.) Currently Reading (Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb)
2.) 10 Things to Tell You (Laura Tremaine)
3.) Happier (Gretchen Rubin and Liz Craft)
4.) The Big Boo Cast (Melanie Shankle and Sophie Hudson)
5.) Follow Him (Hank Smith and John Bytheway)
Favorite Activities of 2022:
1.) Hanging out with my WHOLE family and friends!
2.) Travel
3.) Boating
4.) Biking
5.) Daily walks with Tyler.
Favorite Purchases/Gifts of 2022:
1.) Aura Digital Picture Frame
2.) Silver bracelet from Charleston
3.) Kate Spade Backpack Purse
4.) Clear Acrylic Necklace Jewelry Stand
5.) Blue Tooth Mug Warmer
That's a wrap for 2022!
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