2021 was worth it's weight in gold - Lillie Rohan explains why. Photo / Getty Images
2021 really was worth its weight in gold.
Of course, hearing that may have you shaking your head, how could a year that was basically spent in lockdown be anything close to gold?
And before you shout or cry - and definitely don't pout - I'll soon tell you why.
I took to my friends and family to find out what exactly was so good about 2021 and after the typical "nothing", "you've got to be joking" and to infinity and beyond eye-rolls, I managed to get some positive answers.
2021 was a good, no, a great year for love of each and every kind. For starters, the transtasman bubble opened for a snippet of the year and the reunions we got to see were a box of tissues kind of emotional, to say the least. Watching family and friends jumping into each other's arms felt like living in a rom-com but don't take It from me, take it from one of our journalists who actually got to do it.
"In April I hopped over the ditch for 24 hours, on the first flight to Sydney of the Trans-Tasman bubble. A last-minute journalism assignment, I had several days' notice before getting to set foot on my home soil for the first time in over a year. While the world had seemingly upended since I was last in Australia, I was struck by how bizarrely normal it felt to touch down in Sydney, like I had so many times before - reminding me that home will always be home no matter what crisis separates it from me."
"And with the Trans-Tasman air bridge snapping shut again just months later, I'm even more grateful for the brief Covid ceasefire that gifted me a day at home in 2021. In nearly two years I've had one day of Sydney sunshine, a few hugs with dear friends and just three hours with my Mum and Dad. But I'm so glad I've at least had that."
On top of the emotional reunions, some of us found happily ever after, my very best friend walked down the aisle and married her soul mate and while it was (obviously) the most beautiful wedding, it was a line in her husband's vows that left not even one dry eye in the house, "you are my home".
And on the topic of romantic love, after years of dating Peter Pan types, one friend found an actual adult with all his ducks in a row – no red flags in sight! He even makes her barista level coffee every morning.
For some legends who juggle working and parenting there was a blanket of guilt wrapped around their shoulders. Were they spending enough time with their babies? We're they neglecting their duty as a parent while working or socialising? How does one fit everyone and everything into 24 hours?
In my time of harassing friends, family and colleagues for good things that happened to them in 2021 a common positive was a result of lockdown because the lack of commute, daycare, school, social life all allowed parents to spend more time with their mini-mes and that alone is priceless.
Older kids came back to their parent's house for lockdown, younger kids really took advantage of having their parents around day in and day out. The year was full of concern but talking to parents made me realise just how much a visit home, one on one moments, family time and undivided attention really means.
Some even had their first year of being parents and one of my gorgeous friends summed up her journey to motherhood, "It was truly amazing but not without its challenges. Your whole life changes when they arrive."
Last year took the rug from under us at such force we are all still recovering from whiplash. It was hard to focus on anything let alone our goals but 2021 was different and something about expecting the unexpected had us working harder than ever to achieve our goals.
I watched one of my closest friends buy a house, pride dripping off her, the Kiwi dream became her reality and one soppy Saturday night after a wine or two the enormity of her achievement sunk in, three years ago she would never have imagined this would be her life and she told me "nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it".
Others realised they had saved enough for a deposit, a huge achievement in this economy and a reason to go to sleep happy knowing real life is better than their dreams.
Some found their lifestyle wasn't working for them anymore and completely changed their eating, drinking and exercise habits. After months of hard work and commitment, they are walking into the new year looking happier and feeling healthier than they have in a long time.
But it wasn't just houses and lifestyle changes, a few of us made huge progress in our careers. I for one have had many wins but a particular one that stands out caused me to scream with joy because one of my columns was turned into a game and used on the ZM Bree & Clint show – it felt like a sign everything is moving in the right direction.
One last, tiny, little, itty bitty thing we absolutely must touch on. If you've made it through 2021 with your health intact you have to be thankful for that.
This year may leave you feeling like the Grinch this Christmas and the huge highs and low lows can make that completely understandable but if you take anything away from this year let it be the most basic things can result in the most joy and that makes the unpredictable year worth its weight in gold.
So take a second, breath in, breath out and admire all you have.
You made it through another year.
‘Mum had lived and died with this secret,’ says writer Mary Garden.