2020 In Review

The year 2020 brought with it a tsunami of emotions for all of us!  Many, many times I thought of the 80s Ozzy Osbourne song lyric "I'm going off the rails on a crazy train.".  Who knew 40 years after writing the words to the song they would still stand so true...

Crazy, but that's how it goes

Millions of people living as foes

Maybe it's not too late

To learn how to love

And forget how to hate

Even though 2020 was nothing like I thought it would be when I rang in the new year with my friends in Kansas City back on December 31, 2019, we still managed to squeak out some great memories.

We Travelled 

In February, before we knew the world would be locking down in a matter of weeks, we met our son and daughter-in-law in Las Vegas to watch our beloved St. Louis Blues play hockey.  

At the end of August, we drove to the beach for a glorious week of relaxation.  We toted our food for the week with us and stayed in our own little bubble.  It was just what we needed to release some of the built-up stress.

We found outdoor hiking trails and chased sunsets.

In November, we drove to Tennessee for a long weekend to hike and enjoy the outdoors.

We Zoomed

We've been attending church virtually for most of the year.  I've watched author events and taken a cooking class all over Zoom.

Happy hours on Zoom have taken the place of meeting in person.

Holiday parties even happened on Zoom.

Most recently, my friend Linda and I have figured out how to sync our televisions to watch the Chiefs football game together.  It's definitely the next best thing to hanging out in person!

Pre-Pandemic

Before the lockdown, I was able to host a girls' weekend and we even enjoyed live music!

A couple of our favorites turned 4!  Glad we had the opportunity to watch them blow out their candles before the pandemic kept us apart.

We also got to celebrate Ian's birthday, a 50th-anniversary celebration, and a 60th birthday all before the lockdown started in March.

Pandemic Highlights

I learned how to cut hair (kind of).

We loved going to the mailbox to see if we had gotten a note from our niece and nephews.

We even got in on the sourdough craze.

We puzzled, enjoyed sidewalk chalk designs, and delivered quarantine treats.

Our family was blessed with a new addition, which we are anxiously awaiting being able to meet in person.  Our nephew and his wife had their first baby and he is absolutely adorable!

In 2020, Eric and I both completed our church's Walk Through the Word and read the New Testament.  I started participating in a bible study reading the Old Testament and completed a book study with friends on the book White Fragility.  And I started making our bed every day because I'd seen and heard countless times that doing that is supposed to improve your attitude.  

Through all the ups and downs, we have been blessed to stay healthy.  We've done our best to keep a positive attitude and above all things, we've tried to remain kind.  As we enter 2021, we know that we still have challenging days ahead.  But we also know that being mean and disrespectful to others won't make the challenges any less challenging.  

Thank you so much for joining me in this little space I take up on the web.  I hope you join me in making this year one where we can be proud of our actions and bring out the best in each other.  Happy 2021!