2022 Blogging Year in Review

A hat tip to Mali, whose post "2016: Looking back on the blog" has inspired me to do the same for the past several years. Also to Mel, whose Crème de la Crème lists from 2007 to 2012 prompted me & other bloggers to review our posts from the year past & pick out our favourites to share.  (There was a list in 2006 too, but that was before I started my blog.)  If the Crème de la Crème list still existed, one of these posts would probably be the one I would have submitted. :) ) 

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2022 on this blog was not quite as prolific as 2021 -- which was my best year ever, in terms of numbers of posts, with 213 -- but it was still pretty good. I will wind up the year with 193 posts (including this one)  :) -- ranking #3 in terms of numbers of total posts for the year (#2 was 2020, with 197). That's an average of 16 posts per month (!) -- basically a post every other day.  My least-chatty month was June, when I posted 12 times;  my most verbose was September, with 20 posts. Not bad, especially after 15 years of blogging!  

I don't check my blog stats very often, but I had a look at the ones for the past 12 months, and (as of this morning), I had 151,000+ views and 472 comments this year (both down from last year). The top-viewed post of 2022  (that was written/posted IN 2022 -- was "She IS "one of us"!!", with 163 views since it was posted late in the year, on Nov. 9th.  

In addition to posts about or related to childless/free issues or other adoption/loss/infertility issues, I tried to do a "Right now" or "The Current" post at the beginning of each month, and participated in 48 #MicroblogMondays this year. I reviewed all 50 books that I read in 2022, and wrote about news items (usually ALI-related) that piqued my interest. I also wrote a lot about other things going on in my life, including aging, retirement, being an auntie & great-auntie, and condo living. There were lots of "odds & ends" posts, as well as lists of recent "small pleasures & annoying things."  And, needless to say, the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic (now in its THIRD year) provided PLENTY of fodder for blogging!! 

Here are a few of my favourite/noteworthy posts from 2022, or ones that say "2022" to me -- in more or less chronological order (from oldest/earliest in 2022 to most recent): 

January: 

• "Here we go again..." -- Pope Francis thinks childless people are "selfish." (Sigh...) 
• "#MicroblogMondays: Things I'm tired of" -- (Self-explanatory title!  lol) 
• "61" -- My birthday! 
• "And I think it's gonna be a long, long time..." -- The continuing saga of the Elton John concert...! 
• "Elton John, covid, and where have I heard this before?" 

February: 

• "Support networks (or the lack thereof)(an update)"
• "#MicroblogMondays: "Grief stole my love of reading" "
• "#MicroblogMondays: Solidarity" -- Support for Ukraine in my Italian-Canadian neighbourhood.  :) 

March: 

• "Emotional labour and educating others" -- Sharing our experiences and educating others about grief, loss, infertility and childlessness qualifies as "emotional labour" and can be exhausting. 
• "Two years of pandemic living" 
• " "Prolonged grief disorder?" " -- This is now included in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual used by psychiatrists.  
• "The Pandemic Project, Part 5" -- My fifth round of taking part in a survey about the pandemic, and how it compares to previous surveys I've taken. 

April: 

• "Doctor, my eyes" -- A routine visit to the optometrist turns into something more...! 

May: 

• "#MicroblogMondays: I'm an adult now??" -- When are you really an adult? 
• "#MicroblogMondays: Now it makes sense...!" -- Feeling a little adrift.
• "The old order changeth... :(" -- A fond farewell to my favourite magazine. 
• "#MicroblogMondays: Just call me Superklutz :p " -- A trip to the zoo goes awry. 

June: 

• "#MicroblogMondays: Unfathomable. Infuriating. (And a lot of other adjectives.)" -- The U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe vs Wade. 

July: 

• " "An insult, not a solution" " -- Responses to a proposal to tax the childless (!). 
• "Just call me Boomer ;) " -- Senior adventures with technology (lol). 
• "#MicroblogMondays: In the Garden of Angels" -- An unexpected encounter at the cemetery. 
• "It takes a village, but how do we build it?" -- Obstacles to building community. 
• "I wear my sunglasses at night..." -- My eye surgery and its aftermath. 

August: 

• "#MicroblogMondays: Birthday present :) " -- Younger Nephew's 30th birthday. but we got the best present. :) 
• "24" -- Katie, 24 years later. 
• "Recuperating :) " -- ...from my gallbladder removal surgery. 
• "Shades of grey" -- Canadian news anchor Lisa LaFlamme lost her job -- was it because of her grey hair? 

September: 

• "#MicroblogMondays: To infinity and beyond..." -- An Instagram post leads to a grief-y moment. 
• "Back to school week :( " 

October: 

• "#MicroblogMondays: Adult Halloween" -- Why should parents & kids have all the fun? 

November: 

• "#MicroblogMondays: Dh to the rescue! :)" -- Anything for a great-nephew.  :) 
• "She IS "one of us"!!" -- Jennifer Aniston gives a frank and groundbreaking interview. 
• "#MicroblogMondays: Ho ho ho!! :) " -- We get a special invitation. :) 

December: 

• "#MicroblogMondays: Last Christmas?" -- Christmas with my aging parents at their house -- possibly for the final time, if my sister gets her way and hosts next year...!