The Highs and Lows of 2022

Though the year hasn’t quite ended just yet, it’s typical for me to start reflecting as we inch closer to the start of 2023. I’m naturally a very reflective person as it is, taking note of things when they happen and how I feel during and after, too. I journal and study things around me. It only makes sense that I’m doing that now and looking back on what has been very much a rollercoaster of a year for my family and I.

Let’s look back!

January - February
I was quite pregnant at the start of the year and we were so excited to welcome little Ruby just a month or so in. We had no idea how our worlds would be rocked just a couple weeks before when Sam’s father, Michael, passed away. It was sudden and oh so very devastating, most especially for Sam and his younger brothers. With the great grief that we were all feeling, watching Ruby enter the world on February 10 was exactly the uplift everyone needed. The circle of life all in a two-week span.

Undoubtedly, she really helped us during that low time… not to forget what had just happened, but to give us more love and more meaning to life.

READ: Ruby’s Birth Story Here

February
We bought a new family car (a Honda Pilot) and said goodbye to the red Spark. 😅 Sam had that car since 2013 when we moved to LA and needed a small city car. It did us good but we needed more space!

Ruby’s birth meant the start of my maternity leave and two months of paternity leave for Sam. It was a special, exhausting, hard, amazing, cozy, sleep-deprived time for us all, but we wouldn’t have had it any other way. Having Sam home during that transition from 1-2 kids was majorly helpful. And of course, having our families and friends nearby was HUGE. I was able to spend really great time with my girlfriends being home so much and that did my mind and heart SO good to be around them. Everyone really pitched in to make us feel supported.

March
March was another sad and difficult month, family-wise, with the passing of Sam’s Nana. We had grown close over the years and we always loved visiting her with the kids. Feeling so thankful that she was able to meet Ruby… that will always be so special to us. She absolutely loved Henry, too.

May
Sam’s birthday month, which meant a fun day at a Natick brewery and walking around Hopkinton State Park (our first real date spot back in 2010).

June
Summer kicked off, and we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary, one year in our house and summer weekends in Maine! Maine will always be such a comfortable, meaningful place to me, and now getting to bring Henry and Ruby there is even better. We enjoyed pool and beach time, walks, and cozy nights in.

I’ll remember that for two nights, Ruby slept through the night in Maine ( I woke up in shock) — and then it never happened again! 😂

Lots of summer family walks, trips to get ice cream, hang outs on the deck, and summer cocktails!

July
Henry enjoyed a very dino-themed 3rd birthday at the house with pizza, cupcakes, games, goodie bags and a giant dinosaur outside. He loved it and we can’t believe how much he’s grown this year. (His recent haircut has made him look 5…. and that’s not cool. Pics down at the end!)

Oh, and we all had Covid this month — for the second time… 🙃 And, of course, more beach time in Maine, pool parties and kids outings!

Summer meant lots of time with my best friends too, who ALSO had baby girls this year. Crazy, right?! We’re calling it “the year of the girl”. 😅 I will treasure our time together this year. So nice to have friends to lean on and understand what you’re going through as a mother.

August
Back to work I went, after almost 6 months “off”. Hah. We all know a maternity leave is not chill. 😜 I was a bit anxious going back to my full-time job. Now with two kids, there was a lot more to juggle. I’m extremely blessed to have my parents nearby and for them to watch Ruby FIVE days a week (and Henry for two). That really helped with the transition for me. Oh, and the fact that I’m still mostly working from home about 80% of the time.

Lucky for me, the transition was smooth and everyone at work was (and still is) so supportive of me being a working mama to two little ones.

We also enjoyed an awesome Sox game with killer seats!

September
Fall arrived and it was beautiful as always. We also got to see 311 at the Palladium and it was SO fun! Such a small venue and they sounded great. Brought me back to when they were in their prime.

Henry started PreK and kept on flourishing and makes us oh so proud. 😭

Local photographer Sydney Gusha captured our favorite fam-of-four images we’ll adore FOREVER!

October
I hosted another wellness retreat, this time at my house and it was completely fall-themed (my fave!). It was so much fun to host and teach yoga, lead the group through a mindful workbook, eat lots of homemade goodies and hang out with like-minded women.

Then, I celebrated my 35th birthday with a low-key day with family, at a local fall market and then with some dancing outside… obviously. If you know me well, this makes sense.

Later that month, we went to the Brandi Carlile concert in Boston and it was seriously the best. She’ll forever be one of the most incredible artists to me. Her voice is unreal. She really brought it!

Halloween was lots of fun in the neighborhood. Henry was a firefighter (again) and Ruby, a monkey. Henry’s candy disappeared within a few days. 😉

READ: All About My Fall Wellness Retreat Here

November
Our highlight this month was our first family of four trip — a week-long trip to LA and Laguna Beach. (We lived in LA from 2013-2020).

We had the most amazing time seeing our friends and family out there, after almost three years back in MA. It was much needed — my soul was happy! We packed a lot into our time there but still kept it rather low-key with the kids. The best of both worlds between city time and a beach escape. And, honestly, flying with them both went WAY better than we had planned….

Note to self: worry less.

We hosted Thanksgiving at our home for both sides of the fam, and had a really great time relaxing with everyone.

December
December has been super busy with holiday prep, gearing up for Ruby to start daycare next month, all of us getting the flu 👎, and the sudden passing of Sam’s close cousin Melissa.

It’s been a really heavy year of family loss… There’s no other way to put it. Hence “the highs and lows of 2022”.

Looking back over it all, we are so very blessed. I know this every day.

A lovely home. A healthy family. Great jobs. A strong marriage. Close friends and family who bring us joy. Hobbies we love. Food at our fingertips. Cars to get around. Clothes and toys and gadgets and health care and trips. We have it good. I’m reminded of this daily.

I appreciate what we have and I know that this season is all about gratitude, gathering and presence. Holding on to it all tightly.

Thanks for looking back with me.

I’d love to hear some of your own top 2022 moments! Do share.

With love,

Ari

I told you he looks five now. 😭

Similar Blog Post: My 2021 Year In Review