…DIVE into NYE…

What. A. Year. I didn’t quite know, back in January, exactly how much DIVE would come to mean to me.

I took it literally. I found so many opportunities to DIVE into projects and down rabbit holes. Most notably, in 2021, I decided to DIVE into a podcast idea that has existed in some format since April 2019, and took my partner in crafty crime along for the ride. In May, I chose to DIVE deep into Me Made May, and kicked my garment sewing obsession to the next level. I took opportunities to DIVE into new hobbies, like pottery, and screen-printing. In December, I tried to DIVE into the silly season with all the crafts, and made a solid amount of progress through the crazy long list

In my non-crafty life, I needed to hold onto the idea of diving under the waves of life. We sold our house, finally, but not without a lot of angst and drama along the way. In the first half of the year, my last living grandfather died. Not unexpectedly, true, but devastating all the same. We still aren’t a whole lot closer to starting our new house, which has been a rather frustrating process, and covid means that’s not likely to change as we move forward to the next stage. It has been another year of lockdowns, of second and third waves, of cancelled quilt camps, a year we hoped would be better, and instead are ending with horrifically record breaking case numbers.

Creatively, it’s been an amazing year. I learnt to sew lingerie. I started projects and finished projects. I’ve pretty consistently blogged my way through the year, punctuated as usual by Blogtober & Advent Blogalong. I have had the opportunity to teach online classes, and will continue to do so in 2022. I’ve especially found choosing to DIVE into monthly goal setting around my word to be super helpful, and will be carrying that into 2022.

It’s been a season of surprising myself with how powerful these words can be. In 2019, I had to CHOOSE, each and every day, to find joy in an incredibly hard year. In 2020, I learnt that even in a turbulent year, it was possible to RISE to the challenge. In 2021, the reminder to DIVE into everything I chose to face was so powerful, and brought magic and connection into my life in ways I could not have imagined 364 days ago. In between the crazy this year brought, there is still so so much to be thankful for. As we farewell 2021, those are the moments I’m holding on to.

Happy New Year, friends. I’m so thankful to have you here.