OK, so it probably won’t be as momentous as the “To The City and the World” blessing given by His Holiness the Pope but reflecting on the year that was and the thoughts for the year that is yet to be is a tradition I truly do enjoy.
There’s no getting round the fact that 2020 was a complete dumpster fire of epic proportions and any semblance of normality has gone out the window for months now.
It certainly started out normal enough! Nicholas was doing his driver’s education classroom instructions and landed a job he’s truly enjoyed at the Dairy Queen up the street. Alex was back at dance and back in the saddle. And then there was the madness of traveling to Katie’s dance convention in Myrtle Beach and a competition in Winston-Salem at the beginning of March.
We had no idea that we’d be looking back at those times with longing when the world went to hell soon after with the revelation that the world was gripped in a pandemic from a nasty coronavirus that was so contagious and virulent…a pandemic the likes of which we hadn’t seen in over 100 years.
Governor Cooper declared a state of emergency and the schools were closed soon after. It would take the schools a month to figure out what they were going to do in the introduction of virtual learning that was more a matter of “making things up as we go along” than an actual strategy. Then the progressively more restrictive lockdowns culminating in a “stay at home” order pretty much ended any ideas of the mask-free life we once knew.
The term “social distancing” became a thing even though it was more like “anti-social distancing”. And to be fair, that’s actually not a bad thing that I hope will continue once the pandemic subsides because I’ve always hated having people right on top of me in my personal space.
The kids took these measures in stride…Katie was disappointed at not being able to attend her competitions and her recital became a virtual one of the production number. Alex missed horseback riding and attending school in person. Nick found solace in work even with the restrictions that shut the dining room.
Spring turned into summer and the usual activities of hanging about the pool were in the bin. But the kids did get their week at the beach and I was able to make a grand-circle tour to Washington DC to visit Dad’s grave at Arlington and then continue the full loop round the Chesapeake in a 20-hour marathon trip.
There was more disappointment in the fall with school becoming a virtual environment except for Alex who eventually returned to in-person classes in October. To say it really sucks for Nicholas that it just happened to be his senior year is a grand understatement, especially with his passion for the marching band and the senior traditions that sadly have gone by the wayside in a senior year that will bear no relation to the ones we remember.
And if that wasn’t enough fun, the water heater decided it was done being a water heater at the beginning of the year and the end of the year would find me replacing a ceiling fan when the light kit crapped out to be followed soon after by the entire heat pump/HVAC system needing to be replaced right at Christmas and the coldest temperatures of the year.
It’s fair to say that I’m so ready for 2020 to go the hell away.
It would be easy enough to leave it right there. It would certainly be the more expedient move.
But it would also ignore the fact that in spite of all of the pain and misery and general suckage this year has wrought, we are all still alive and carrying on and surviving in spite of the pandemic.
And there have been occasional bits of happiness and joy along the way. Being able to spend more time with the kids comes to mind and finding new ways of enjoying each other’s company…or driving each other to distraction.
We did a lovely hike round Lake Wheeler Park with each of us having a camera in hand and that was so much fun and very therapeutic. We’ve managed to find a kind of order to our days and little things like teasing each other when Katie comes down to demand to be fed lunch or playing some hands of our newest game obsession called “Fluxx” where the rules can change in myriad and bizarre ways with each play of a card. Katie would call me a nerd for pointing out that “Fluxx” is reminiscent of Captain Kirk’s fictional card game called “Fizzbin” that he invents on the fly to confuse some aliens who were playing the part of Chicago mobsters in the original episode “A Piece of the Action”. Or the times we’d hang out and watch an episode of “The Masked Singer” together.
Being together is what has truly made surviving 2020 possible. And in spite of this small matter of an election that showed the American people are more divided than ever…it is our ability to come together in spite of our differences that will be the key to making a better 2021.
And that’s because of this one small truth that even as massive as a Pandora’s Box that 2020 has been…there is still hope to be found if you’re willing to look for it.
Vaccines have been developed and are starting to get administered and eventually we will get this virus under control and return to some sense of normal, whatever the hell that is after all we’ve been through. With the election behind us, maybe we will figure out that working together as Americans is far preferable than pulling in millions of different directions has been these past few years.
And then there was tonight spending some time next door with my neighbours Miguel and Jessica before coming back to write this and post it in time for the usual viewing of the ball and acorn drops and Facetime with Julia and the kids.
As I’m sitting there taking in the general madness and chaos that tends to be the defining attribute of their parties, I couldn’t help but think that a while earlier I had held their daughter Ashley’s two-month old son for the first time ever. JoJo is so darned adorable pretty much from head to toe and those big cheeks of his are just one of the many ways he truly looks like his father Eddie…so much so it’s almost scary.
In spite of everything that has happened in 2020 and all of the misery and death and nastiness of this coronavirus pandemic…here is this beautiful baby boy who was just happy to be in someone’s arms and was busting some serious moves in time with the music.
He could truly care less about the coronavirus or social distancing or masks or anything other than just enjoying a moment in someone’s arms. That Ashley would trust me with her precious baby is a gift beyond words and one I will always treasure.
And he’s not the only young one that is about to turn our lives upside down in 2021 but you’ll have to wait for that story.
For now, it’s time to kick 2020 in the ass and send it packing.
I know that when the ball drops, we’ll still be far from anything approaching normalcy. The damned virus won’t go away immediately…it’s going to take a while for the vaccine to get in enough arms to do it’s thing and get it under control.
But I do have hope and faith that whatever 2021 may bring…we will survive it and we will do so together.
And so I wish everyone the happiest of New Years and my wishes that your 2021 will be a lot better than 2020 has been. May you be safe and find happiness and hope where you may.
And hopefully when it comes time to do this again, we will have a happier year to reminisce. 🙂