2020: A Year We Never Thought We'd Be A Part Of

This year didn't start off very well for anyone. People were dying, people were tired, working to keep others stable in the hospital, the government officials aging before our eyes because they were feeling the stress of trying to keep their people informed and protected. The pandemic of 2020 was something that the common people never saw coming. To start with, the world isn't all lollipops and unicorns, and as humans, when we have people in our lives that we care for, we can't get rid of the worrying feeling of when they get sick, or they go out for a night on the town with their friends in the car for the first time, or they have a sleepover with their best friend for the first time. It's ingrained in us to worry when we're away from our loved ones, and covid-19 really put that human instinct in overdrive. All you want to do is be there with them, and it was difficult to admit that the only way to keep them safe is to keep space between you and them. Thank goodness we live in an age where technology is accessible to so many people that we could talk on the phone and hear each others' voices, we can video call and see the excitement of grandchildren seeing their beloved grandparents after months of being apart. Every generation has its challenges during this trying time. The younger children were missing their social time with others their age because the schools were closed for part of the year and now, many students are doing virtual classes. It's a great option to keep the kids home, but no kid should be on the computer for that many hours at a time, although the teachers really are doing a great job of acclimating everyone and making online school more enjoyable for the kids. The kids have probably lost some of their structure of normal life with being in the classroom and having a bedtime, but we aren't in old normal times anymore. Then, we've got the parents. The parents who have to work have to worry about being in the office and possibly bringing something home, and those with small children had to take time off work to be home with them. The seniors, those in homes were prone to the sickness because of their immune system, a lot of them don't even know how to use technology to communicate with loved ones if there wasn't someone there to help them.

The pandemic took a lot out of us, but it didn't break us, those who are still here. Some good did come out of this. People were able to spend more time with their families, people took up new hobbies, got to finally shed those few pounds they said they were too busy to get rid of. 2020 definitely was a year of worry, sadness, grief, research, growth, learning, togetherness.

So, even though this year was the worst one of my life, I can still give thanks for allowing me the chance to work from home, spend more time with the family, go for long drives in the sun. Being able to defer some of my bills for a few months. That gave a lot of people a little bit of a break.

2020, you didn't win. You kicked some of us in the butt, some of us in high gear, and forced us to make certain changes, but we're still here, and we're going to leave you in the dust in 2021.