2020 Year in Review

Written December 30, 2020

When I first thought about this post, I was going to write a little about 2020, then focus on 2021.  Because who isn’t ready for a new year after this one.   I feel like that would be a great disservice to myself and anyone reading this, though.   As much as none of us want to relive 2020, we should all take some time to reflect on this year and what we learned.  I’ll do another post with some optimism for 2021 soon J

So first, I’m going to reflect on my memorable events and general thoughts of this year.

1. I started the year working full-time, then went to part-time, then didn’t work for a couple of months, then went back to part-time.   I’m pretty sure I need to make a post just about those different stages sometime soon.
2. In addition to the varied jobs and work hours, Andy and I also worked some from home and some from offices.
3. Hannah is cooler.  I’m not sure this is a normal thing to say as a mom, but 18 months to two-years-old is better than the baby phase.  #sorrynotsorry
4. We did better in the Quarantine of Spring 2020 (I feel like it should have an official name) than we expected.   We spent a ton of time at home and were at least half sane at the end.  I’m pretty sure having a kid before the pandemic slowed us down enough to where this was manageable.  If the quarantine happened in our pre-kid days, we would have been going crazy.
5. Andy and I had to cancel a trip to Nashville.  That one stung.
6. Mom and I had a Rascall Flatts concert cancel on us for the second time in our lives.   Some things just aren’t meant to be lol.
7. We moved an hour and a half away.
8. We have the ability to see some family and friends a lot more and some less because of the move.
9. We said goodbye to a daycare and a house we had grown to love when we moved.
10. We said goodbye to Nova. Despite her old age, this one hit really hard.
11. We were going to bring back hosting an Ugly Sweater Christmas party but covid and living in an apartment ganged up on that idea.
12. I started this blog! I’m proud of this because I had thought about it for years.

I’m sure I missed some things and I didn’t point out the obvious sucky parts for everyone of 2020 because we all already know those.

Now second, what did I learn from this year?

1. Part-time work is a good balance for me in this stage of life. 
2. When I do work full-time, working 100% at home isn’t great.   I felt like I was losing my mind and social skills a little bit.   Along with that, I realized that community is really important. We weren’t made for isolation.
3. Planning is fun, but expecting things to go as planned can be really disappointing.  This is always true, but 2020 knocked us down a few pegs on the reality scale.
4. Moving an hour and a half away isn’t fun.  That’s an understatement.  BUT it was worth it later.   And sometimes we have to do not fun things to progress in life #adulting
5. Dogs are the best, but they will break your heart in a million pieces when they pass away.  And then you’ll try to remind yourself that they were a dog and it isn’t socially acceptable to lay in bed for a week over an animal, even though you feeling like it.  And maybe as a society we should just be kinder to each other and ourselves with any kind of loss.
6. God will work things out in the right time if you trust in Him.   But based on my track record, I’ll forget this anytime another big decision comes up.
7. If there is something you have been wanting to do for years, just try it (within legal and moral boundaries of course.)   If it doesn’t work out, you can move on and if it does, yay!
8. Slow down.  Make time for the people and things that matter.  If this year did one good thing, it caused us to reflect on our priorities.   We had to slow down this year, but if things start improving, we need to remember we don’t have to go back to our pre-pandemic pace.
9. Traveling, big events and parties were all high on my list of things to do for fun.   This year taught me to find some smaller things at home or close by to enjoy.   I am still working on this, but I know being outside brings me a ton of joy and is one of the reasons the Quarantine of Spring 2020 was manageable for us.
10. Being part of a historical event is super overrated. 

I hope you all take a few minutes to reflect on a few things from the year most people want to forget.  It has been my experience that the hardest times shape us the most.   I hope this year ends up being one we would never want to live through again, but are thankful for some of the changes that come from it.