Looking Back on the craziest year ever...

Well, we made it. 2021! Hooray!! We just made it past, arguably, the worst year ever...and yet did we? I know we couldn't wait to leave 2020 in the dust. But I have the uncomfortable feeling all we accomplished was a flip of a page on a calendar.

I know that I have a lot to to be thankful for. My husband and I both kept our jobs. My family is healthy and has missed out on COVID 19 so far (crossing my fingers now that I said that aloud). We were able to actually save a nice chunk of money, despite having a college Freshman. That's what happens when you don't go out to eat so much. Or at all.

And I may be the only person to lose weight during the pandemic. Thankfully, I started living healthier in late January. That gave me almost two months to make those changes into my new, daily routine. Yay, me!

For better or worse, we've gotten to spend more time together as a family. That's always a mixed bag, especially with two teens who are only 22 months apart. but they haven't (yet) killed each other so I'll take that victory.

So what did we learn from last year? One marred by hundreds of thousands of deaths in this country and more than 2 million around the world, racial unrest, and division I have never witnessed? I'm not sure any of us know. It always seems so easy to me. At least in my own mind. Just be nice to one another. I've always been happy to live in a country where freedom of speech allows you to not only disagree with someone but to also express those disagreements without fear of reprisal. Somehow, we've lost sight of this.

As I write this, I have had my first COVID vaccine shot and await the second. I am also awaiting my son's latest COVID test results, since he was exposed for a second time to a + patient. I am hoping that the introduction of the vaccine will bring us back to the way we lived before COVID. I want to go to a movie. I want to have lunch with a friend. I want to hug people. In public. Without a mask. Without fear of catching the virus. And I want people to remember we have a lot for which to be thankful, even in the face of all this.

I wish you and yours a Happy (and belated) New Year! here's to a better, brighter, and happier time for all of us!!