2020 Recap. Finding New Appreciation for the Little Things That Make Me Happy

2020 was quite a year. One that we will look back on in the future and tell our kids, and our grandkids. So I thought it would be nice to look back and reflect on life during this past year, the March Break that lasted until September and quarantining with our family all of the moments in between.

We certainly had some difficult moments during our time together at home. It’s hard to balance it all – contracts, homeschool, childcare, meals, stress from all the uncertainty etc. Aside from trying to find a balance and getting through some tough days, we also had a lot of really great time together. I’ve also realize how much I appreciated this time we’ve had together at home.

We have been fortunate here in Atlantic Canada. Here in Nova Scotia, we are in better shape than other parts of the country and most of the world. In the summer we went some time with no COVID cases province wide.

Back when we were in lockdown I made a list of everything I was missing and also a list of what I was enjoying and also things I gained a new appreciation for. Like rearranging furniture, moving rugs and restyling areas of my home more times than I could count.

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Things I missed during lockdown:

1. Homesense – YUP this made the # 1 spot hah.
2. Quiet.
3. School.
4. Seeing family.
5. Social interactions.
6. Routines.
7. Watching my boys play sports.
8. School artwork coming home.
9. Cute outfits.
10. Group Fitness – Sunrise Bootcamp and Spinco
11. Window shopping and going into stores for inspiration. AHHH I missed Homesense.
12. Hugging someone when you unexpectedly bump into them in public.
13. Having one or two events on the calendar and a reason to get dressed up, put on some makeup and go out without the kids and have adult conversations.
14. Random calls or texts from my husband, checking in to see how my day is going. Those always brought a smile to my face.
15. Ohhhhhh I missed having adult conversations with someone outside of our house.
16. Thrifting.
17. TRAVEL.

Now for the list of the things I’ve loved and I’ve come to appreciate more during our time together at home.

1. Watching Avery and Archer get closer. They are at a great age. They’ve spent literally countless hours playing together. I listen to their little conversations and the games they make up and it is precious. I’m very grateful they have each other. They are best friends.
2. Slowing down at home.
3. Not rushing. Since there is no where to go – we aren’t going to be late.
4. Since there was no where to go for quite some time it made me realize what little we really needed to get by.
5. Rearranging our home, redecorating with items we already own to make things feel different and fresh.
6. All of the hilarious quarantine memes that float around. I saved some of my favourites on my Instagram Story highlight for days when I could use a laugh.
7. Blogging and connecting with my online community.
8. Easy DIY’s and painting everything!
9. Organizing our home, purging things we do not need and feeling accomplished with every space, large or small that becomes less cluttered and free of stuff.
10. Staying in Pj’s or cozy clothes all day.
11. Being more creative in the kitchen, more home cooked meals and trying new recipes.
12. Baking with the boys. During our lockdown I must have baked more than I did in all of 2019!
13. Family walks – refreshing to get out of the house together.
14. Working as a team with Adam to plan out all of our projects. Last year we focused a lot on our exterior with our exterior makeover, as well as our backyard fire pit. We also did some landscaping. We’ve been discussing more projects for this year and we have quite a few things we want to tackle!
15. One on one time with Avery and Archer.
16. Outdoor adventures, exploring our beautiful province.
17. Staycations and making a weekend a little more fun by creating fun drinks and snacks for the kids, letting them stay up late and doing little “extras” to make it feel a little more special than a regular weekend at home.
18. Feeling very appreciative for my little family and this time we’ve had at home together.
19. Board games with the kids. Although they tend to make up their own rules sometimes.
20. Family hot tub dips. We’ve had some wonderful time together, device free, no distractions, all snuggled up together.
21. Decorating extra early for the holidays.
22. Forced Blooms. I will share how to do this in an upcoming blog post. Each day I looked forward to seeing my buds slowly open, it brought me so much joy and they lasted for weeks, evolving from simple branches, to buds, to slowly opening or blossoming into beautiful flowers. My favourite were Magnolia and Cherry blossoms.

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After reading through my lists, I hope that you can also relate to some of the things I’ve come to appreciate more. It was easy to come up with more things that I loved vs the things I missed. But what a year! I’m grateful that we’ve made a lot of great memories throughout a challenging year.

I hope everyone is healthy and safe and finding new appreciation for the little things.

xo Amy

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