We’ve just about made it through 2020, a year which took all my high expectations and shat on them. Repeatedly. We’ve experienced so many hurts throughout the past twelve months.
The loss of human life was staggering, with each death leaving a hole in the hearts of family and friends. Even more infuriatingly, the half-ass handling of the pandemic by a careless and amoral president is a national tragedy and a national disgrace. Exhausted medical personnel who lacked necessary supplies, ignorant and selfish Americans who refuse to wear masks and actively spread the virus while denying its existence, multimillionaire Senators who think $600 is going to save families from homelessness and hunger. We saw our elected officials trying to overthrow the results of a lawful and fair election (and we are still dealing with that crap). We lost one of my idols, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, leading to the confirmation of a religious zealot who isn’t worthy of carrying RBG’s legal pad. We have been pent-up. isolated, deprived of socialization and family and friends. We are stir-crazy, anxious, and full of fear.
It would be very easy to focus on all that was wrong and went wrong in 2020, but you know what? I’m going to put my Pollyanna hat on and consider some of the good things that happened this year. Adversity has a way of showing all that is right with humanity as well as all that’s wrong with it. So let’s look at some of the good things.
Kudos to all of those medical personnel who sacrificed so much to care for COVID patients. Mr. Rogers said “look for the helpers,” and those medical personnel, along with transportation workers, postal carriers, janitors, truckers, pharmacists, grocery store workers, teachers, and others who helped carry us through the year; they are our heroes.
It is a cruel irony that despite the flat-earthers and the anti-vaxxers, it is science that will save us by allowing us to craft a vaccine and figure out the most effective ways to treat COVID patients. How wonderful that we still have smart and learned scientists who persevere.
Every maker who cranked out masks on their sewing machine or figured out how to use 3D printers to help provide protection for their fellow citizens deserves a giant round of applause.
And for the journalists, writers, pundits, elected officials who kept hammering out the message that COVID is real, that it’s highly contagious, that it’s deadly, and that masks and quarantine will save lives? You are also heroes.
Looking closer to home, I am honored to be the parent of three amazing and resilient kids. (And that’s the last time I’m going to use the word “resilient” until FOREVER.) Even though they all lost a large swath of their senior years — including proms, senior week, trips, and most of color guard season (this cut so deeply — Grace’s team had a knockout show), they handled the rapid changes with maturity and (no pun intended) grace.
Once we revised our expectations, we had the great joy of seeing James graduate virtually from Amherst College (to my long-standing readers, can you believe it???) and then the surprisingly intimate experience of the twins’ drive-through high school graduation.
Their opinions may well be different, but one of the bright spots of my year was spending precious time with my kids, time I otherwise would never have had. James arrived home from college in March to finish the semester from home and became our family chef. The twins had virtual schooling through early June, then had abbreviated semesters which gave them more time at home. Just having them home, hearing them in the apartment, watching them giggle as they made cookies together, hearing James play the piano and Grace practice the flute and Nick yelling at his video games — these moments have made my heart swell three sizes in a day.
I am extremely fortunate in that my job was largely unaffected by quarantine. My firm shifted right into work-from-home mode and oddly, our department was more efficient than ever. This enabled me to spend much time with Boris who was thrilled to have all of his people home. Just five and half years ago, I was suddenly forced to be the sole breadwinner for my kids and myself. I am proud that I just celebrated my fifth anniversary at my job and will never stop singing the praises of an employer that gave me a chance when I desperately needed it.
One huge blessing: we got to celebrate (masked and at a distance) with Nana as she celebrated her 90th birthday. Her health is pretty good and as usual my brother is taking such amazing care of her. She is still fiesty and funny!
We ended the year with the vitally important election that will not only restore class, dignity and intelligence to the people’s House, but will also see the first woman sworn in as vice-president (not to mention the first person of color/woman of color/person of Indian descent to be VP).
As the New Year beckons, I’m going to do my best to remember the little moments of joy, humor, and humanity that helped me get through this grim, anxiety-producing year: posts from friends on FB, lovely images on Instagram, dinners with all three kids at the table, admiring Boris’s pawsies as he stretches out in a nap, fresh flowers, Room-Rater on Twitter, great tv to stream, knitting for solace and enjoyment, and 9 months of wearing t-shirts and pajama pants.
Looks like we made it, fam. Let’s buckle up and get ready for a better and brighter year in 2021.
Thank you!!1