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Trying to write this and the only title I could adequately come up with is "Starting Over".
It's a fitting title right? I think that as a year progresses there are two primary tracks of thought. The first is the waiting place - waiting for the new year. It's marked with expressions of when will this year end. What a year.. I can't wait for 2023... The other track is Where did this year go. For us 2022 is both depending on the moment. As many of you know shortly after celebrating the 2022 new year (where we had spent much of 2021 and the year prior firmly in the "waiting place") our family experienced a fire in our home. I don't want to talk too much about it because as much as it was a dominate theme in our lives this year it also was very small in comparison to all of the wonderful things that happened that we are very thankful for. It gave us an opportunity to Start Over that we didn't know we were waiting for.
There's three things I will say about it: 1. God is good and everyone was ok. Caitlin, Carter, Myself, Cat 1, Cat 2, Harvey and Amara. 2. There are not enough good things that can be said about the members of the Hewitt Volunteer fire dept and surrounding areas that responded in how they took care of my beautiful wife and the respect that they showed for our belongings and home as they risked their own safety to stop the fire. 3. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you - there are no words we've found to express how overwhelming the love and support was from not just our family and friends but people everywhere. The thoughts, prayers, Carter clothes, formula and other assistance... in that scary, humbling, overwhelming moment... we are so grateful.
Then we begin February. February is way less about starting over. It's a lot more about naps and apparently learning.
We learned to laugh in the hard times and thrive in the good. Carter learned to get off the bottle and eat real foods. He drank from an open cup and ate just about anything that was put in front of him. While February was different than January it also held losses, as Caitlin's grandfather passed away. Stories were told about a great man who played so many roles in many peoples lives. As we both laughed and cried, we were once again reminded to count our blessings and live in every moment as you never knew when it would change.
As March came around we began to look forward to spring. March was a very exciting month.
Caitlin started a new job at Mayo Clinic. This was a huge step forward in her career and she was so excited!
Halfway though March we took Carter for a visit to MN. Caitlin got Crumbl Cookie and Carter had some very talented people do an excellent job building his new palate. He bounced back very quickly but did not love the "No No's" on his arms.
April officially marked the month where tractor ownership shifted from Dad to Carter. That little boy loves his tractor. He can spend hours riding and heaven forbid someone fire up his tractor without him!
This spring Caitlin decided to take up motorcycling. She went to Doc's Harley Davidson for her rider's course and spent several days staying at what she claims was a very haunted hotel in Shawano.
The biggest event in May was of course little dude's 1st birthday. He got an absolutely awesome "smash cake" which he quickly destroyed. He had so much fun.
Then before we knew it summer had arrived. Summer well as we all know went by in the blink of an eye. We spent a ton of time playing in the pool - Carter loves water. A ton of time tractoring. Managed to make it out to several fests and fairs - mmmm deep fried cheese curds.
Mom and Dad took their first helicoptor ride at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair. She was terrified but had lost a bet and had no choice, plus after they took off she had a wonderful time.
On Caitlin's last motorcycle ride of the summer, Jake officially rolled 50k miles on his motorcycle "Shady".
Carter had his first boat ride and very quickly found his sea legs. That was also coupled with his first fishing trip. Caitlin slayed panfish and bass all day. Matt baited hooks, took fish off hooks, and untangled lines. Carter mostly snacked and played with the "waterfall" in the livewell. Fun was had by all.
We also attended the In-laws and Outlaws family reunion at Mark and Susan's. Too much food and equally as much fun. Highlight there was for sure the parents vs kids waterballoon battle. We didn't keep score but unofficially the parents dominated and we learned that Caitlin's brother Kyle has a mean pitch.
In August I had a work trip to New Orleans and was able to bring Caitlin along. We crammed as much NOLA culture in as we could around my site visit. Took several walking tours and ate at one of Caitlin's dream locations - Emeril's. It was an awesome experience.
September we spent a week camping up in the UP at Bewabic State Park. The weather was eerily hot and so in addition to normal fall camping activities like bon fires, hikes, bon fires, smores, and bon fires we also managed to sneak in swim time at the beach and a trip out on the lake to throw teenagers around on the tube.
Also in September my Grandparent's (Dick and Ronnie) celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. So overwhelming to see all the family and friend's getting together, being able to celebrate such amazing people, and just another reminder of how much we are blessed. Love you guys very much!
Fall was here in a flash and was dominated by Deer Camp Prep. Carter logged countless hours atv'ing through the woods. Helping to clear trails, collect sticks, check stands, and setup trail cams. We'd call them deer cams but that would make Matt feel bad as his camera basically saw crows...
October we went up for her Dad's annual fish fry. No major injuries to report this year and the fish was absolutely delicious. Had a blast picking apples and pumpkins.
Of course later in the month Carter got to discover the wonder and joy of trick or treating. He dressed up as an adorable dragon and pillaged all of the candy from the villagers.
November threw some odd weather with some cold snaps followed by weird warm weather. We spent many a night looking at trail cam pics and videos getting ready for the upcoming deer season. Deer camp was great as always and for the first time in many years all of the guys got a deer. Dad and Jake were the big winners both taking very nice bucks.
So here that lands us at the end of the year. December has been a blur. Making cookies, shopping, visiting Santa (Harley Santa is the best), seeing the holiday lights. Our little boy every morning says "Ready, Set, Go" and then waits with joy in his eyes for the lights to come on the tree. Somany OH WOWS! Couldn't ask for more.
Caitlin and our soon to be baby girl are doing well. She'll be here soon and we are all very excited to meet her and get brand new baby snuggles.
Hope this finds you and your friends and family safe, warm, and blessed. If you haven't already tell those closest to you that you love them and give them an extra big squeeze every time that you see them. Wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons!
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and God Bless!
~The Bergeron's (Matthew, Caitlin, Carter, Baby Bergeron...Also Harvey and Amara + Cat 1 and Cat 2)
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