I know what you are thinking: if 2020 could be summed up in two words, they’d be “Dumpster Fire.” 2020 has not been very kind to us. We started the year out strong with high hopes, only to have them come crashing down in the first three months with Covid. This led to the great toilet paper shortage of 2020, which led to the short but still memorable baby wipe sell out.
We are all still adjusting to the new (hopefully temporary) normal, but I have realized one thing recently: these aren’t the only things to remember about 2020.
No, I’m not talking about the crazy DIY hair dye mishaps made while hairdressers were closed or even the fact that Lysol and Clorox wipes are still so highly sought after that asking if a store has any feels like you’re asking a dealer for the “good stuff.” Yes, this year has thrown us some curveballs and it has definitely played dirty in this game called life, but when I think about the things my kids are going to remember from this year, it isn’t the pandemic, toilet paper shortage and masks; it’s the family time, the game nights, and the time at home. They will remember their dad working from home and then his “vacation” when he switched jobs. They will remember all the projects we finished at home, like painting trim and mulching gardens, refinishing furniture and finishing those pesky projects we just never seemed to have the time for.
2020 has not been easy. Both globally and personally, it has been more than a little stressful, but the time I have had with my family has been irreplaceable.
Even with health scares and uncertainty, this year has been unforgettable all the way around for me. We have found new hobbies that the kids love and found talents we didn’t know we had. Painting has become a family project and a way to get those creative juices flowing. We have discovered ways to stay busy while home and the kids have all found a new love for reading that I was beginning to think would never happen. The kids have worried (heck so have I), but we got through it together. We have a joke in our family — “Don’t put it past 2020” — because this has been the year in which if something could go wrong, it has, but we have learned to go with the flow and not to plan too far ahead.
So no, this year didn’t turn out to be the way I had planned, far from it in fact, but that doesn’t mean that I am any less thankful for the experiences we have had. 2020 was supposed to be a year of positives, a year of growth, a year of pushing the limits for me…one thing I didn’t take into consideration is that I don’t get to choose how all of these things happen. So, when the Dumpster Fire of 2020 started, it made sure these goals of mine were put into action just not in the way I thought they would. Through pandemics, wild elections, health scares and marching into unknown territory, I am so thankful for the time that I have had with my family, for the experiences that my kids will remember for years to come and now, I know that even when it seems like everything is looking bleak, there is still so much for which to be thankful.
In this time of Thanksgiving, try to remember more than just the bad that has come from 2020.
