It’s finally the end of a very trying year. We made it through though, didn’t we?
Here we are on the cusp of a New Year. Now, while this is just the flip of a page in a calendar, it’s also a psychological shift to a fresh start and hope for the future.
We all have a choice. We can stay in a negative dark place or do the best we can for ourselves and those around us to live our best lives.
Here’s my 2020 year. This last year was a definite challenge.
It started off like every New Year—a celebration and great goals for 2020.
I mean really, what a great number, right? 2020. Or it was—until it wasn’t.
In January, me and my hubby traveled to southern Washington to visit family. We drove over to Portland and ate tons of VooDoo Donuts and also spent a couple of hours at Powells Book store.
Then, in late February 2020, my husband and I traveled to New Orleans to take part in the Rock ‘n Roll half-marathon. It was so much fun doing the run and exploring the city. I cringe, looking back on the pictures of being squished in with thousands of people in the French Quarter for Mardi gras parades. Won’t do that again anytime soon, but at the time we laughed and celebrated with many strangers.
Along comes March and we’re kicking back thinking about the fall of 2020 and perhaps we should book a big trip to somewhere—Europe? Africa? New Zealand? So many choices and opportunities.
On April 1st, I wrote every day for the entire month. I finished the first draft of a novel but still need to rewrite and edit it.
We watched the news and heard about China building a hospital in a week to contain some virus. Hmm, perhaps we should pay attention to this—but it seemed so far away and yet…
Boom! Lock down, borders closed, restrictions galore… oh my.
After a few weeks, it became abundantly clear that I’d have to cancel the inaugural Wine Country Writer’s Festival I’d been planning for almost a year. I hoped, but soon realized the virus wasn’t going anywhere. Fingers crossed as we now plan for September 2021.
In May 2020, we witnessed the murder of George Floyd on television. This sparked protests and riots and opened up the eyes of the world to the inequalities within the modern justice/social systems. A world-wide shift of awareness opened up and continues today. There is hope. Keep the conversation and awareness moving forward.
A couple of months later, hubby and I made the difficult decision to close our small family business because of Covid. The business dealt exclusively with aviation, and once the planes stopped flying; the industry collapsed.
We tried to make the most of staying home and being healthy.
Family came to visit over the summer and sometimes things felt near normal, but then mid August a wild fire broke out in our neighborhood and we got evacuated along with hundreds of other people.
Like what the hell? We stayed with family in a nearby town and watched as the firefighters and forestry workers battled the blaze right next to our house. Long story short, our house survived, and we were safe. Thank you, firefighters.
In September, our son returned to University only to have on-line classes. The hope had been for some in-person lectures/labs, but it wasn’t to be.
In the fall, instead of taking our big dream trip, we explored local areas in our old motor home. We met some lovely, generous souls who I’ll always remember.
There’s been a lot of isolation, but there’s also been a lot of introspection and hope. If you don’t have hope, you could be in trouble. We need to look forward and plan the future—that’s what we as a species do.
For Christmas 2020 my hubby, son, and I had pizza for dinner—no turkey this year. We played crib and did two Zoom family meetings for either side of the family. I was relatively stress free and very quiet—which isn’t always a bad thing.
Now here we are on the doorstep of 2021. It’s a year of hope. As the world gets vaccinated, we’ll return slowly to a new normal. Soon we’ll be able to plan again. Travel again and be with family and friends. For me, the biggest thing I’ve missed are the big hugs. I just want to hug my family and friends without fear.
Auntie Lesson:
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we all need to embrace hope for tomorrow. We are more resilient than we realize. Take nothing for granted, as there are no guarantees. Live your life and be the best person you can be.
