2021 IN REVIEW

Charles Dickens' famous novel, "A Tale of Two Cities," begins with the phrase, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Those sentiments surely describe 2021.

This past year was long and hard. It started with the Capitol riot and ended with continued surges in COVID cases. In between, we spent much of this past year cloistered and avoiding the things and people we love. Democracy took a major hit with innumerable bills designed to making voting harder and less representative, and the Republican party seems to have no bottom of depths to which they are unwilling to sink. Joe Manchin killed President Biden's signature legislative agenda and seems pleased to join the Republicans in gutting the social safety net West Virginia's poor citizenry depend on. Work remained challenging with mandatory masking, distancing, and many safety precautions.

However, despite all these challenges, 2021 was filled with many bright spots. On the first of the year, I received my first COVID shot, which was such a massive reflief. Kathleen and the kids were also vaccinated, and all except Cate have received a booster. Word on the street is that Cate will be eligible next week!

We expanded the lab from three to ten and now have domain level expertise for many techniques! We recruited our first undergrad and published ten papers. We brought in two new grants, too, which will help take our research in new directions!

President Biden did pass the COVID Relief Bill and his Infrastructure Bill. There were a record number of judicial nominations, too. The independent commission in Michigan created a more democratic map for our elections, and a new group of Democratic politicians gained one more year of experience. 

It was a great year in sports with our Michigan Wolverines beating Ohio State and winning the Big10 Championship. Tonight, they play Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal! Football resumed, and Lionel Messi and Argentina finally won a Copa America. Later in the year, Messi moved from Barca after their mismanagement led to financial catastrophe and inability to pay his wages. A few months later, though, Messi would win his seventh Balon d'Or trophy - another record.

Other particularly bright spots were trip and vacations. We went to Pittsburgh for Spring Break, and I got to see my old mentor from fellowship. My dad visited for Memorial Day. We had a wonderful visit back to Portland and Oregon where we saw many old friends and were able to get together safely. We saw Kathleen's family in Minnesota in August and celebrated her niece's high school graduation. My mom visited for Labor Day.

Cate and I came to Austin for a soccer tournament in the National League, and I was thrilled to watch them win two and draw one, placing them first in their division. Thanksgiving brought a trip to Madison, WI to see Kathleen's family, and it was nice to spend time in the place we almost called home after fellowship. Alas, it was not in the cards then, but Madison was lovely. 

Which brings me to our final trip of the year - a three city tour visiting my dad in Houston, mom, brother, and friends in Austin, and my sister in San Antonio. I am grateful that we were all able to get together safely.

As I think about that line from Dickens, I am struck by how we all should be so lucky to utter both phrases in that sentence. Life can be imaginably hard. However, if we are lucky and approach our lives with open eyes, we are often able to see all the things for which we should be thankful. 2021 was exactly that kind of year for me!