22 Things I Learned In 2022
2022 has been the greatest year of change. It’s hard to imagine what a year with even more change would look like.
We started 2022 still living out of a suitcase with all of our furniture in storage. We knew we were going to move California… but the housing market was tough. We had been looking day + night on Zillow, Craigslist, etc for 3 months. We started questioning — are we making the best decision? I was in my third trimester + we still hadn’t found an apartment in Santa Monica. Were we really meant to leave our community, family, work, + the comfort of Chicago in order to have a home birth in Santa Monica? What if we didn’t find an apartment we liked? What would we do?
Looking back at the beginning of the year, I can’t help but smile. This year was an amazing practice of faith. In my heart, I knew we were meant to birth our firstborn baby in Santa Monica. LA has *the* best home birth community [in my opinion — at least in the USA] + my greatest wish was to birth our baby at home in the water. Plus, we had always talked about “trying out” living in California… so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. But, on paper, it seemed like all the cards were against us. Don’t people move *back* to family when they have a baby?
Yet, we held onto the vision. We knew it would work out some way, some how… + it did… 😍 I say all of this as a reminder to myself: Trust the little pings in my heart. Trust the divine timing of life. Trust the sense of adventure that “not knowing” can bring. Trust that change can be so bittersweet, yet so beautiful.
#1] Hands down, becoming a mom was the most transformational experience of my life. April 18, 2022 forever changed my life. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully articulate the magnitude of love, growth, + joy becoming a mom to Noah has brought to my life.
#2] Saying YES to a home birth in California was one of the best decisions in my life. Read all about my home birth here. Also LOVED working with our midwife + doula… SO impactful.
I have SO many motherhood lessons… I’m going to make a blog post specifically for the mama learning moments 🥰
#3] Saying YES to living in Santa Monica! It took us awhile to find our apartment, but I’m so grateful we held onto the vision. I remember writing in my journal that my greatest wish was to be able to walk to the beach + to sleep with the windows open! I pray that I never take this home for granted.
#4] My shoulder pain has an emotional side to it. This may sound “woo woo,” but I had an incredibly profound massage this year that gave me an insight into my shoulder pain that’s been bothering me for years. I’m ready to fully release + clear out that shoulder pain in 2023.
#5] Furnishing a home is so time-consuming… but also so rewarding! All the trips to World Market, Home Goods, plant stores, + Facebook Marketplace. While I love home decor [+ I think I’m really good at it, in my humble opinion ; )], I hope that we don’t move for at least a few more years lol.
#6] Favorite TV series (ever?!): This Is Us. We are not TV people at all… but we started watching This Is Us in the early postpartum days, + wow — so many feels! Highly recommend.
#7] Less time on my iPhone is a theme for me literally EVERY month. It’s so easy for me to numb out on my iPhone [especially when I’m overwhelmed] + I hate that I do that… especially as a mom when time just seems so much more limited/sacred. I’m working on having phone boundaries — not only on for instagram, but also texting. I want to be as intentional as I can with how I use my phone! The dream would be to only be on my phone 2–3x/day + “batch” use it.
#8] Writing helps me process + honor important moments of my life. Like what I’m doing now! Ever since Noah was born, my soul keeps screaming… write, write, write. From my journal: “Keep writing until you’re sick of writing + have fully expressed your story. You’ll know when it’s time.”
Also — traditions/rituals help me process! Isaac + I have been very intentional in the ways we’ve honored becoming new parents. There are so many *firsts!* We’ve started recording conversations [just for us] + have done quite a few ceremonies… like: Noah’s First Bath, The End Of The External Pregnancy, Clearing The Home Birth Room, etc. We also started setting intentions whenever we meditation together. It’s been such a beautiful way to connect.
#9] House exchange instead of Airbnb/hotel. We did our first ever house exchange in August in Chicago + it was a blast! I posted on my instagram story asked if anyone was interested, + I was surprised by all the DMs. Try it!
#10] I judge a coffee shop by the brand of its whole milk, lol. Clover + Straus are my fav. Also, I eat raw dairy now! Who would have thought.
#11] Always say YES to hiking. Always say YES to jumping in the ocean. Always say YES to exploring a new part of LA. It’s amazing how exploring a new neighborhood can feel so invigorating.
#12] Always say YES to traveling. The one thing I know for sure = travel extends life. My heart is LIT UP by traveling. Yes of course, traveling looks different with a baby… but it’s not slowing us down. If anything, it’s speeding us up — because we know that traveling will only get harder once Noah’s older. Also, this year was one of the first times I actually took a “vacation,” rather than working remotely while traveling… + wow, I definitely need to do that more.
#13] CHAARG became fully remote this year. I really miss us all being in the office together at Industrious, but I’m so thankful for Slack [+ I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to be on it… thank you Sarah for the push ; )].
#14] Moving + motherhood inevitably change friendships. This was a hard lesson for me to learn [+ frankly, I tried to resist it]. It sucks. At times, it was painful. I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that of course my friendships are going to look different when we don’t live in the same city. I’m working on giving myself permission to release “what was” + honor every friendship as a unique gift.
#15] Don’t overbook our calendar with hosting people. When we got a 3 bedroom apartment, we were SO excited to host people. However, we got a little too excited… + started booking people to stay with us every weekend. Especially with a baby, it’s too much. We need to protect a couple weekends a month for just “family time.”
#16] Who am I letting influence me? I deleted a lot of influencers on instagram, stopped listening to a lot podcasts, + unsubscribed from emails. I am so much more protective + discerning of what’s worth my time/energy.
#17] My perspective on life has shifted. My lens feels clearer. I am starting to really hone in on my priorities. I have such a tangible reminder [Noah] that life is so fleeting. My biggest fear is saying: “It flew by so fast. It was such a blur”. I feel so present. More present than I’ve ever been. I keep reminding myself: We’ll never get this time back… we’ll never be “new parents” again ❤
#18] I’m a big fan of warm water surfing on very gentle waves ; )
#19] Take the flight! CHAARG turned 10 this year. A couple weeks before our birthday, I got this *crazy* idea to surprise Sarah [while flying solo with a 5 month old for a 24 hour trip…] to celebrate in person together + honor everything this journey has taken us on. It was my favorite surprise of my life. I’m so grateful I decided to go for it.
#20] Time with my grandma is becoming more + more precious. My grandma is 93 years old + an absolutely incredible woman. She truly acts/looks like she’s 75… which is why I think this was the first year that her age really hit me differently. I’m savoring our time together.
#21] It’s never too late to process/honor our wedding. Over a year later… I finally wrote the blog post [70 Wedding Tips] that had been on my mind + heart for awhile! It was so fun to relive the best weekend of our lives. On my list for the year… creating a “wedding box” with photos, notes, + anything else we want to keep from our wedding.
#22] Nostalgia hit differently this year. I think due to all the *change* from this year, I find myself thinking about the past more than I usually do. Or maybe it’s because I’m a parent now? I’m not sure. Memories have come up that I haven’t thought about in 10, 15, 20 years. Many times, the memories bring a smile to my face, sometimes a tear. Every time, it brings a longing in my heart to savor. Savor this present moment. Because the moments I’m living right now… are the one’s I’m going to look back on 10, 15, 20 years down the road.
2022, thanks for being an absolutely amazing year. This year was one for the books for sure.
Love,
Elisabeth