The four of us on New Year’s Eve, made with my new Moto Edge 5G UW phone.

I’m actually composing and editing this late on New Year’s Eve to the sounds of what could be gunfire but is probably way too many fireworks for one neighborhood so forgive me if my lack of concentration leads to a mistake or two. Also the rock band that has practiced almost daily throughout the pandemic in the house behind us isn’t taking a break this evening. (I don’t know the rock band’s name, but I assume it’s something like Covid Rudeness.)

The year is over. I don’t have much of a retrospective or general feeling about 2021 other than most of it made me very tired — both mentally and physically. But tired is a sensation to which I’m very accustomed, having been a parent for some time, and a longtime human worker drone before that, so I probably shouldn’t complain. Here, I just want to list a few updates in case anyone still checks this blog. (You should check this blog, if you’re interested in what goes on in my life.)

In my previous entry, I mentioned a handful of things that require updating, so I’ll hit those first:

• FINANCES: After paying property taxes and replacing the house’s water heater (at about the same time our 6-month auto insurance policy is due, and just before Xmas), money was a little tight and we expected it to be tight until January or February. Fortunately we all pulled together, cut out all unnecessary spending, and got back on track by mid-December. It’s all paid off, even the year-end HOA dues.
• BASKETBALL: B’s basketball team finished the season 3-4-1, which I think is the best record of any team (in any sport) he’s played on so far. He even made a basket in the final game, which was his first-ever score in any sport. He was pretty pumped about that.
• THERMOSTAT: I mentioned that the thermostat was acting up and that I’d bought a new one. But then the old thermostat started working perfectly again, so I have a new one in a box for no reason. (I could take it back to the store, but what if the old unit IS on the verge of failure? Then I’d have to go buy a new one again.) But when I still thought I’d have to replace it, I went through every circuit breaker in the breaker box, trying to find which one controls the HVAC, and the answer turned out to be “none of them”. (The A/C and/or heat will continue to blow even with ALL circuit breakers switched to “off”.) So that was strange.
• VACCINES: Both children got their second doses of the Covid vaccine and so both are “fully vaccinated”. (M and I have each received our booster [third] shots.)

Besides those updates, what else happened in our lives as 2021 came to a close?

• Holidays: Of course, there was a holiday or two. For Thanksgiving, we four celebrated at home in the hopes of not giving or receiving the coronavirus to or from others. The meal was delicious and filling as usual. Xmas was much the same way except with less food. We decided to surprise R by adding a phone line to our mobile plan, but when M went to the Verizon store to connect R’s phone, she was talked into not only upgrading our plan but also buying new phones. So I got a new phone for Xmas (my old one was getting close to six years old) and I have to admit it (a Moto Edge 5G UW in “nebula blue”) is pretty dang nice. I hope it will last as long as my old one did. On top of that, both children received everything they asked for and more — it’ll be a tough Xmas to beat (from their perspective).
• First Annual Fry Household Christmas Chess Tournament: Mostly as a joke, I proposed holding a “First Annual Fry Household Christmas Chess Tournament”, pitting the top four chess players of this household against each other in a round-robin style tournament. To my surprise, everyone agreed. Once we hammered out the details of time controls (10 minute games, no increment), points (one for each win, half for each draw), and other details, we played all the games on Xmas Day. Somewhat in line with everyone’s expectations, I won the tournament, with B coming in second place. Frustratingly, there was no prize money associated with the tournament. But, there IS a video, in which I talk about it a bit and show some highlights from the games. (Click here to watch it; it’s less than 15 minutes long.)
• Theater Tryouts: R tried out for a part in a local production of Moana, but did not get the part. A couple of her friends did get parts, and she plans to see the show when it’s ready. She said she plans to try out for next year’s Aladdin, when the time comes.

Instead of writing a separate entry to wrap up the year, I suppose I should say a few things here, despite claiming above that I don’t really have a wrap-up for 2021. Most of what happened in our lives this year that’s worth mentioning is in the few entries I wrote, listed here. We tried not to let Covid-19 dominate our year like it did in 2020, but we also remained vigilant in the hopes of not being included in “those people who died of Covid” lists. We lived through what my wife calls “Snowvid”, the brutal February winter storm. And then we kind of stumbled through the rest of the year with the best of intentions. We had a handful of short trips and good experiences (all listed in the aforementioned list of 2021 entries).

We’re not a big New Year Resolution household, but we do mention to the children each year that people make resolutions and predictions for the coming year. My wife struggled to think of anything she could improve on — she already works out daily, eats healthier than most anyone we know, and is a really good person. For myself, I could probably think of some ways to improve, if I really wanted to, but... I guess I’m happy with a plateau for right now. I climbed and improved and bettered and learned for a long time, and right now I just want to hang on to the ground I already gained. If I can do that in 2022, I’ll count it as a success. (If I have any specific improvement goal at all, it would be improving at chess, which is my current micro-obsession, though that could change at any time — because my rotating list of obsessions comes and goes: photography, writing, political/social issues, and now chess.)

Last year, I didn’t make any resolutions, but I listed a few things I would like to accomplish in 2021. Let’s see. I did not finish my novel, though I did work on it quite a bit. The loose framework is there, as is the world-building and character development. I have a few tough spots in the plot to work out, and I need to decide which parts to include and/or leave by the wayside. I did continue learning Spanish, and I did read at least 50 books. The last thing I mentioned was working on the downpayment for our next house, which we technically accomplished — we saved as much as we thought we’d need back then (before house prices began to skyrocket). Which left us a little short of what we need now, but it’s within reach.

Previous “Year In Review” Entries:

2020: 2020 : Year In Review
2019: 2019 : Year In Review
2018: 2018 : Year In Review