2020. Wow, you shaped up to be nothing like I was expecting. Things started off pretty darn normal and by March that ended. The start of the pandemic hit and it threw a wrench in any plans. Not just for us, but the world.
We started working from home, the kids finished school remotely and we had to learn to cohabitate 24/7. The first few months were hard in adjusting. No eating out, no friends, no anything. Surely, we’d be back to normal by Summer. Nope. Not even close. Our trip to Spain to celebrate Matt’s 40th birthday became a definite no. There was no pool, no parties, not much of anything. We started wearing masks out in public. Social distancing, quarantine became normal every day words. Thinking everyone had the cooties was legit a thought all the time. Life had changed.
Lillian started high school at home while Natalie started her last year of elementary school. With a few months under their belt earlier in the year, remote learning seemed a bit normal. Well as normal as it could be.
Outside of the pandemic, this year was also just hard. We lost Rocky, my parent’s dog, early in the year. Though we knew his time was coming, it’s hard to say bye. My dad got diagnosed with brain cancer which was a super-unexpected blow to the last few months of the year. We’re all still navigating this and supporting each other as a family while my dad fights it head on (no pun intended).
Not everything in 2020 has sucked and it’s important to remember the good even during trying times. We welcomed Jefe to our fur clan. A new, energetic ball of crazy for my parents to love. Salem forced himself into our fam and we became a fur family of 5. Matt went back to work at the company he started with when we moved to GA which is a great fit for him. I won a global award at work and the kids, as much as they can, are thriving. Even with as much time as we’re spending together, it’s been pretty nice having a simplified, commute free lifestyle.
If anything else, 2020 has taught me it’s okay to do less.
2021, not sure what you’ll bring, but I hope you get us closer to normal. I miss adventures, I miss hugs, I miss our life.
As we excitedly looked forward to putting 2020 to bed, we decided the theme for this year would be to party like it wasn’t 2020. The party wasn’t the same without the usual clan of my parents, but we made the most of it.
