Our 2021
I’ve always admired those people who share a family newsletter with their Christmas card each year. I’ve even more admired those who find clever and memorable ways to update loved ones on their lives, such as our friends who wrote a full poem with a different limerick for each member of their family. That said, I’ve always been self-conscious about such a newsletter of our own. What terribly interesting things have happened in our life that people would actually want to know? Besides, most anyone who cares already knows. It’s a thought I’ve continued to wrestle with as we’ve received such letters, and like anyone with a soul, we loved reading each word, even if we already were familiar with the contents. Perhaps such letters are more about the author’s chance to reflect on the year past. With another year of the pandemic behind us, perhaps it is all the more important to consider the time spent, the lessons learned, and to look boldly into the new year, with a little more grace and wisdom (hopefully) than the year behind us. So here’s my stab at it.
Like most everyone else out there, 2021 started out in the throws of isolation due to the pandemic. Yet, even in the darkness of those winter nights, I collected the names of everyone I knew who received the vaccine, that silver bullet that was supposed to lead us back into the light of normality. What a nice thought that was. Austin and I continued to bubble with my parents and brother, and together we facilitated online church services and Sunday School for the families in our church. We remained in contact with the rest of our family and friends, via video calls and virtual Jackbox TV nights. Throughout the winter of isolation, I kept busy continuing to develop a new passion of mine picked up in March 2020: photography. Often Austin, my brother, and I found ourselves outside, hiking through the snow, cameras in hand. I also leaned heavily into other creative pursuits: watercolor, scrapbooking, and embroidery. During this most isolating season of the pandemic, I learned to see the world the way I often had as a child: filled with awe-inspiring beauty and wonder. Even as the world as picked up speed (to some degree) once more, I’ve held fast to these two convictions — to remain connected with loved ones no matter the distance and to see the beauty around me no matter the circumstances.
The day after I turned 27, I received my second vaccine shot and Austin did as well a handful of days later. With our immune systems primed, we entered a new chapter: re-entry. My mom and I went to TJ Maxx a couple weeks later for the first time in over a year. While I didn’t expect to have any reaction, I found myself experiencing claustrophobia for the first time in my life while in the store. It wasn’t severe, just enough to unsettle, shake off, and move on from, but it reminded me just how much the previous year had changed my habits, my world, and myself. From that point on, things became more normal, though we largely continued to work from home. Some of our closest friends finally came to visit. We ate in restaurants. Over the week of Memorial Day, we went down to Austin’s parents and reunited with Austin’s family — some of whole we hadn’t really seen since we got married, and some of whom we hadn’t seen in far longer, including our toddler niece and nephew. This was the first of several summer trip to Maytown, PA, so we could attend delayed weddings, enjoy family Fourth of July parties, and hike and birdwatch along the river.
Dr. Austin Jantzi, PhD
Summer also brought our first wedding anniversary, spent on the sleepy Isle La Motte on Lake Champlain. Though only a handful of hours from home, our time on the island brought a change of pace and scenery, and a special chance to celebrate each other and the love that we share. August brought its own host of changes. Most notably, my brilliant husband defended his PhD and became Dr. Austin Jantzi. But thats not all August afforded. While I’d loved my job and my team in Advancement, Communications has always been my first passion, and over the summer I’d applied for an open position in the University’s communications department: the University’s social media manger. About the same time Austin earned his PhD, I accepted the position and embraced a new challenge as I simultaneously adjusted to working from the office full time.
The fall was a busy one. As I learned the finer points of social media management, I rolled with effects the delta variant had on our college community. Simultaneously, preparations for our belated wedding revved into high gear. Meanwhile, my dad announced that he and my mom would be moving to Texas in the new year to take on a new job with the Episcopal Bishop of Dallas, and my brother Than started a masters program in Folklore at Memorial University in St. Johns, Newfoundland. On the first weekend in October, as the Adirondacks burst into color, we welcomed our family, friends, and loved ones to the North Country for a weekend celebrating our love — and the love we had for all of them. It was a weekend to remember! The rest of the fall afforded trips to enjoy the leaves in the Adirondacks, visiting some of my closest friends and a few more family members.
Our happily every after…
And that brings us to the holiday season. The holidays kicked off with our booster shots and a roadtrip with Austin’s brother and parents down to a camp in Kentucky for Thanksgiving with my mother-in-laws side of the family — which was probably about 60 people including the great-grandchildren. Of course, as Thanksgiving arrived, so did the news about the omicron variant. Even as the news of omicron dominated news channels and conversations, Than returned home and one of my dearest friends popped up for a visit to celebrate Austin’s graduation (technically he graduated in August, but the ceremony wasn’t until this month) and to enjoy some snowy hikes. While my parents have been preparing to move across the country, we’ve still found time to enjoy our (presumably last) Potsdam Christmas. We’ve sung carols, picked out trees, had cookie parties, and eaten mince pies. Soon we’ll celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with more carols and presents, with stockings and high tea, and all the love our family has (which is quite a lot!). Next week we’ll drive down to Pennsylvania to share Christmas with Austin’s parents and younger brother before heading to Pittsburgh to celebrate New Years/Christmas with my oldest brother-in-law and his family. And then we will turn our heads to face the dawn of 2022.
For those of you that have stuck with me and this rambling recollection thus far, I’ll wrap up, but first ponder the lessons of this strange and wild year. Throughout this month I’ve been reminded of just how powerful it is that no matter the state of the chaos around us, the Christ Child still comes and meets us as we are. Stepping back further and looking at the entirety of 2021, that same thought sticks with me. 2021 was a year of highs and lows, of tears and laughter, of anxiety and hope. We processed grief, healed our wounds, basked in hope, and stepped out in wonder — not necessarily in that order. Throughout all of it, I’ve felt the presence of God in my life, no matter the depths or the heights. This year has given me new eyes to see and appreciate the world around me. At the forefront of my mind is the absurd thankful for sharing this life and all it brings with Austin. He’s my anchor, my joy, my constant believer and supporter, and my true love. There’s no one else I’d rather weather the unexpected of life alongside. Even as the world is speeding and filling up (though what the winter bring is the big, unanswered question), we’ll continue to prioritize our time together - inside our small apartment or adventuring in the woods and mountains, enjoying the adventures life brings, whether close to home or far afield. I’ve also appreciated in a new, deeper way just how much the people in our life matter. No matter the state of the world, no matter the distance between us, remaining connected to our family and friends is another key priority for our life together. So to everyone who was a part of our 2021, thank you. Thank you for our regular dinners, for our hiking adventures, for video calls, for our game nights, for our Snapchat and Instagram, for our whirlwind visits, for conversations, for texts, for calls, and for penpals. May 2022 be a year of health, peace, and renewal — and if not that, at least we’ll know it’ll be a year of love, so long as we share in all that it brings with you.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year.
Love,
Amelia & Austin
