2020 was a doozy huh? I remember the first day of the year, Tamy and I indulged in an amazing meal and talked about the future and what our hopes were and the trips we wanted to take. It all seemed so happy, so bright. And for a short time it continued to be bright, a new job, new travel, and then... well we know what happened next, no need to rehash that. Over the last nine months I struggled, mostly mentally, a bit financially, but I also thrived. I remembered I loved to write and I started this little blog, I remembered I loved to cook and I spent more time cooking new things, I remembered I loved to craft so I created and played, and explored. I was given a gift of time and I used it to workout, to watch movies, to try new things. There were days that I was sad, days where I wore pajamas all day and had to force myself just to brush my teeth. There were days where I spent literal hours fighting with the Unemployment Website and I cried - no, correction, I cry. I cry every day, sometimes I cry because I'm watching my Hallmark and it's touching or I cry because I miss my parents, or I cry because I worked so hard for the job I loved and was in a good place financially and I'm worried about the future and sometimes I cry because I'm lucky, lucky to be healthy, lucky to have good people in my corner, lucky to have a wife who gets me and supports me. Yes, this has been a dumpster fire of a year but it's New Year's Eve, in a couple of hours we will embark on a new adventure and we can do that with an open heart, open mind and gratitude or we can wallow. There is no wrong answer just a choice and I choose to believe things will get better. I choose to believe, I choose to continue to have hope, I choose to continue to work on myself and use the time I've been given wisely.
As we leave this year behind I also choose to look at all the positive things, the friends that I have in my corner, the fact that I maintained the same weight all 9 months! Virtual book club with Bob which we plan to continue in the new year and I'm really excited about. Introducing Tamy to Grey's Anatomy. I remember that half marathon I ran, the time I spent on the Disney Wonder Cruise Ship, the epic monopoly games and movie marathons. I think about the lessons too and even though some of them were hard lessons and attached to a loss I am better for them. 2020 might not have been the bright and shiny year we hoped on day one and we may have a long, long road ahead as we enter 2021 but there are things I choose to hold close, things I will leave behind, things I will take with me and I will believe that I am strong enough to survive whatever is thrown at us next.
Now if you feel more like Brody please know I'm here for all of you as best as I can be, even if that means just crying together (I'm a major weepah) and I want to hear from you, what was the good you took from this year? Even if it's one thing, even if its small, even if it seems silly please share your one good thing, we could all use the positivity!
I'll be back soon with my goals for the new year and some fun projects coming our way but for now I leave you, be safe, be happy, stay healthy! Happy New Year!