There’s a lot to be said about 2020.
It’s no doubt a year that will be studied in the future and a year our kids will tell their kids about. There was a lot to it.
It started normally…school back in session, plans being made, all the things that make a new year what it is.
But then everything got flipped (turned upside down).
It doesn’t matter where you lived, worked, went to school, played…your life was impacted in 2020.
It’s really easy to dwell on the hard, bad parts of the year. For me, I went from some alone time to completely surrounded 24/7. (And yes, I realize that is very first world.) And while I was completely surrounded, it was one of the loneliest times I can remember. It was a year where I mourned friendships and wondered where I went wrong. It was a year where I mourned with friends. It was a year where I mourned with my kids as they were faced with disappointment after disappointment.
2020 was a heavy year, and if you are a mom, you probably felt the weight of the world on your shoulders. I felt so responsible for everyone. Were we quiet enough so Adam could work? How were my kids? How was Adam? I felt like I carried everyone’s mental health, mine included. And I can’t imagine anyone escaped the year without considering their mental health. Some of us had skills to cope (and counselors to call) and others found them.
2020 was definitely hard. But as I told my 3rd graders before we left for winter break, as we prepare for a short return to virtual, we can do hard things. Not one of them kept their hands down when I asked them who thought virtual was hard or who thought not seeing friends and family was hard or who thought wearing a mask all day was hard. But we did all of those things!
We can do hard things.
We learned to talk more in our house. We are learning to express how we feel with each other. Adam and I want to know when we’ve said something wrong. We want to talk through these things. 2020 taught us to do this. If we didn’t have as much time at home, together, we would have probably missed this.
We learned to enjoy each others company. We’ve played games, done puzzles, watched movies (the entire Marvel collection), played outside, went for hikes (maybe I’ll learn to like it), cooked together and sat and talked together. The togetherness this year brought us was a new level and I am thankful for that time (although I wouldn’t mind having a few minutes to myself again).
We had plenty of canceled plans. Trips canceled, parties canceled, events canceled. On the other side though, I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to going on vacation and getting on a plane. Those were things I definitely took for granted. It’s a perspective shift and I am so thankful for the things I’ve been able to do.
The whole year has been a perspective shift. We’ve pivoted and been flexible and really embraced the comfort wear. We’ve taken classes on zoom, had happy hours on zoom, sat in parking lots with friends, bought masks in a million different patterns and laughed along the way. I’ve become the barber, still the chef, and a little bit of tech support (yet the teenager is way better at that.)
If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we have a choice. We can do the hard things or not. We can be flexible, or not. We can trust, or not. As for me, I’ve had my days were I want to stay in bed and cry but I have a choice. I’m choosing the hard stuff, the stuff that makes me stronger. I’m choosing to adjust and be flexible because chances are, Christmas with family would be postponed…and it was. And I am continuing to trust that God holds all of it and all of us in his hands. Why he allows certain things, we may never know…at least not on this side of heaven, but I know he’s got it. And I know if because he’s done it before.
Thank you, Lord, that we are on the other side of 2020…almost. Thank you for guiding my family and I through this hard, good year. Thank you for the lessons we’ve learned and the way you’ve comforted us through it all. Thank you for being trustworthy and always there. May we all go into 2021 with hearts full, cautiously optimistic and loving all the people around us.
Happy New Year, friends. Cheers to 2021.
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