I wrote a post on 30th December 2020, whilst no doubt consuming some Christmas pudding, about what I wanted to achieve in 2021. I had 5 ‘Aims’ rather than resolutions of things I wanted to aspire to and I loved writing quarterly updates this year to keep me on track. So did I meet my 5 Goals of 2021?
In a twist of things, my 5 Goals for 2021 didn’t necessarily involve expanding our family. I am now 35 weeks pregnant with baby number 2, something I didn’t pop down in an aim for the year but nonetheless, one we are incredibly excited about. It certainly changed the way I was thinking of the year from the midpoint onwards!
Our year, as for so many others, has been about finding our new normal. The masks are still around but we have a vaccine and can now test from home. I’ve gone from having a little baby to a toddler who makes me belly laugh every day. We have been to a wedding, saw friends and travelled a little. I have loved reading back on my goals and am going to do one for the upcoming year.
So if you fancy reading about how my year has turned out over the last of the mince pies have a read. Please let me know how you got on with your goals too!
1.Get outside Every Day
Did I achieve it? Not every day, but the majority!
I think I really have tried to do this. In my goals for 2021, I don’t think I envisaged how leisurely pushing a pram would turn into walking with a little human on reigns. I really didn’t know how much she would change in a year.
Charlotte usually shouts ‘park!’ within the first few moments of getting up and LOVES being outside. She would be out in a storm if she had the choice. She loves nothing more than hurtling around a playground and splashing in puddles. She adores soft play and barely stops to catch a breath.
I often find it easier to take her outside too as keeping a toddler inside often creates more mess than the effort of taking her out of the house. The toy dumps and emptying of crayons etc. are a regular occurrence so I think we would both much rather be outside.
Although I ditched the Fitbit, I did get an Apple Watch for my birthday which I have loved. I really enjoy completing my ‘rings’ and hope this will be a great tool postpartum.
2. Continue to Learn
Did I achieve it? A mixed bag
Gosh, this is a tough one.
I had such high hopes for this aim and I think this is the one I feel in some ways I have achieved the least.
I booked an exam and started to study towards a further qualification in banking, a job I used to love and enjoy. But just as I booked the exam, I found out I was expecting our little boy. I was tired, nauseous and my heart just wasn’t in it.
Regrettably, I cancelled the exam. I still have the textbooks and maybe one day I’ll go back to it. But my passion went out the window.
Instagram is another one where I feel the love ebbs and flows. I love writing on my blog but sometimes feel a bit shy to share it on my Instagram platform. I like taking photos and I like to share, but I give myself a hard time. I found at some points I was getting obsessed with how many ‘followers’ I had and I was posting things for the wrong reasons. I was getting confused when some people’s posts had hundreds of likes and mine had 10. Although I think it’s great, I felt I was chasing something that I couldn’t put my finger on and that left me feeling uneasy. I’ll still continue to post on there but feel my blog is where I feel at my happiest. Writing just to document things and sharing recipes or nuggets of weird information that may help others.
What I have loved is being published with some other wonderful writers in a magazine called House 21, along with winning an award for an article about being an unlikely cleaner (worth a read if you’re doing a Spring Clean!) I’m really proud of this and it’s ignited a passion to try and get back on the writing train.
I’ve loved doing a few Zoon calls with experienced bloggers and I loved it when I was in the zone with writing regularly. Let’s see how that goes with two small toddlers in 2022!
3. Play Lots
Did I achieve it? Yes!
I felt quite emotional reading my aim for last year, and remembering how it was with the Zoom classes and the isolation.
Although Covid is very much still around, this year we have shared wonderful times playing with friends and family.
We go to playgroup every week, we have gone to swimming lessons and we have become regulars at our soft play. We have been to birthday parties, nursery and had actual play dates in people’s houses. Who would have thought?!
These have formed some of my favourite memories of this year. Charlotte loves her friends as much as I do. She often asks for them and runs to hug her pals. Her learning has been from all her experiences this year and I couldn’t be prouder of the small human she has become.
4. Read 12 books
Did I achieve it? Yes!
I completed my aim!
According to my Goodreads, I have read 15 books this year.
I can thank a lot of broken nights sleeps with Charlotte for some of these. In the middle of the night, I really enjoyed using the kindle app to read whilst settling her back to sleep. I know a lot of people read a lot more than this, but as I mentioned before, I am an incredibly slow and dawdling reader (well done to Carys and Sophie who I just looked and are almost on their 5o book target! Eeek!) Feel free to have a look at my Goodreads link to see what I enjoyed the most.
5. Find Peace With My Garden
‘Did I achieve it? I found a spade!
We did get a new fence! And we painted the shed!
We got a bird feeder, planted some more plants and it’s been a joy. I am no Charlie Dimmock. I am still a terrible gardener and wait for my Dad to visit to do all the shrub bits. But I planted a few bulbs and chose some potted plants. Mark has continued to be an excellent lawnmower and it’s genuinely lovely to watch the garden change as the seasons do.
One of my favourite days of the year was during the summer when we blew up a paddling pool and watched Charlotte hurtle down a slide into the cold water causing a huge splash. Our garden isn’t huge but it’s our space and I can’t wait to use it some more next year.
I hope you have enjoyed my review of my 2021 aims. I’ve tried to be as honest as I can and am now planning my 5 Aims of 2022.
Stay tuned and let me know what your aims are for next year xx
