Goodbye 2020

I know it’s been a hard year. I know most people want to forget 2020, put it in the past, and pretend like it never happened.

Trust me, it hasn’t been a walk in the park for me either. But as I look through pictures on my phone from these last 12 months, I see some good memories and it brings a smile to my face.

This year was hard but it wasn’t all bad. There are still victories to be celebrated and good times to be remembered.

I completed my second 10K in February with most of my family by my side. I had a wonderful trip to Disney, a magical place that makes my heart happy.

I got sent home from work in March for what was supposed to be two weeks. Those two weeks turned into who knows when or if we’ll go back to the office. Fortunately I’ve been able to work from home since, but it certainly was an adjustment. It’s hard to go from socializing in an office setting to sitting in your dining room by yourself all day. Yes, I have the company of Ember, of course, but that was an adjustment too.

I learned how to sew masks in April. It wasn’t easy and took a lot of time and patience, but I’m glad I can say I did that during a global pandemic.

I had bunion surgery in May. I don’t know that this would have been possible had I not been working from home. My foot took way longer to recover than it was supposed to, but I completed 10 weeks of physical therapy and have come such a long way since then.

I found time to spend in the kitchen and baked lots of chocolate chip cookies using a different recipe each time. At this point I don’t even remember which ones I liked best so I’ll have to try them all again.

Jimmy and I traveled to Colorado – my first trip out west – and saw some pretty cool places. This was our first vacation in years and it was a lot of fun.

We bought a new house! While buying and selling a house this year was easier than normal, it’s still stressful to do so in the middle of a pandemic. We still have boxes and stuff everywhere and it might be months before we’re fully unpacked, but we’re happy.

As we neared the end of the year and could almost see the finish line, 2020 decided it needed to throw a few more things my way. My grandfather passed away and I got pretty sick with Covid in the same week.

That week with Covid turned into a few weeks of recovering. I didn’t get my Christmas decorations up as early as I wanted. I didn’t get everyone’s Christmas presents in the mail on time. I didn’t bake a single treat before Christmas week. Covid definitely robbed some of the spirit of the season from me.

I only saw my parents twice this year! Only two times this whole year – 10 months apart. That’s the longest we’ve ever gone and it was tough. But I’m so thankful I was able to spend these last eight days with them, the longest since I moved out in 2017.

I’m not terribly sad to see 2020 go, but I’m always a little reluctant to move on to the next year. While it hasn’t been all fun and games, it’s still been an adventure. I’ve grown this year and I’ve learned a lot, and for that I’m thankful.

So here’s to ending the year with sunshine and salty air, both good for the soul. Cheers, my friends. We made it. Here’s to hoping 2021 is better and brighter.

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