As I mentioned before, 2022 was a wonderful year for me. Here are my personal favorite 2022 moments:
Josephine
2022 revolved around one major event: Josephine’s birth. In January, I was impatiently waiting for it, and then my baby was born on 10 February. The human brain is wonderful because I have mostly forgotten about my actual stress and C-section pain. What I actually remember very well is the awe with which I held Josephine during the first night. I just looked at her because she was (and is!) so perfect. That night I didn’t even need any sleep.
Many of my favorite 2022 moments therefore involve Josephine. Like when I took her to Roosevelt Island for a little Easter bunny photo shoot, when she started to smile at us, how much she loves to be in water, her first tooth, her first crawling, etc. I could go on and on, but don’t want to bore you :-).
2022 At Home: New York City
I highly enjoy living in NYC. The City just has so much to offer (even if I stay at or close to home most of the time because Josephine needs a pretty defined schedule these days). And our home is also very nice, if I may say so myself. Where else would I meet the nicest and cuddliest cats in the world, as in Lotti, who loves sitting in our laps, and Arti, who loves to jump on our shoulders?!
- I finally went to see the Lunar New Year’s celebrations in Chinatown in early February 2022. That was super interesting and fun. I hope we can all go this year as the lunar New Year falls on a Sunday.
- After it had been on my bucket list for several years, we visited Governors Island in early summer. The island is so pretty and quiet, esp. in comparison to Manhattan. I highly recommend it for a day or half-day trip.
- Just like in 2021, we went to Brighton Beach because it has become our favorite. The beach is quite clean and the ocean water refreshing. Besides, it is close to Coney Island and also to a neighborhood full with Russian and adjacent cultures’ stores and restaurants.
And Away: Our 2022 Travels
Covid hasn’t gone away (as we learned when I got it again in April, and Rich and Josephine got infected in August), but it didn’t dominate our lives as much anymore. We managed to start traveling a little more again in 2022:
- I lived in Massachusetts for four years, but never made it to the Berkshires – even though I wanted to go. In June, we finally made it there. We rented an Airbnb house and met Rich’s parents for a pleasant weekend. Mostly, we walked around and enjoyed the woods. Oh, and we loved our Airbnb’s jacuzzi.
- It has become our tradition to go to the homestead in Maine every summer. Last year we even stayed for over three weeks, although Rich had to leave after two. I love the giant extended family summer house in the middle of nowhere, where we have our own room. Plus there is a lake house in the adjacent village for us to use as well. I also totally romanticize that kind of vacation because it offers major novel vibes (already as a kid I loved books on families spending their summers elsewhere, like “Seacrow Island” – or, more 2022-like, think “The Summer I Turned Pretty”).
- After three years, we finally stepped again on European soil. In September we flew to Germany to visit my family. There, Josephine and I stayed for two and a half weeks, whereas Rich returned to New York City after one week. We were there for my granny’s 91st birthday. Overall, we met a lot of family and my two best friends from school.
- We had just gotten back from Germany, when we almost immediately flew to Florida for a long weekend. Rich’s grandmother lives there. So we stayed with her, spent time at her beach club, and just relaxed for a few days.
Overall, an amazing year. One where I, for once, pass on naming any negative things that happened. As I am creating my 2023 mood board and jotting down some goals, I can only hope that this year will be half as great.
What was your favorite 2022 moment?