The End is Near…of 2020
What a year we have had! I know we still have almost 2 weeks left until we roll into 2021 but this is my last blog post of 2020 so want to share some key thoughts from the year.
A few thankful thoughts...
Thank goodness none of my family members became ill as a result of Covid and not too many of my friends did either.
Thank goodness for all of the frontline workers across industries who have sacrificed for all of us.
Thank goodness for all of the scientists and their partners in the fight to create, test, and distribute a vaccine that will protect us.
Thank goodness for my last minute long weekend to Cancun in February as none of the other vacations we were hoping for happened.
Thank goodness that lockdown didn't start until March 16th so I got in my conference speaking engagement in California during the week of March 9th and that my mother-in-law got her 80th birthday party luncheon in late February with her extended family.
Thank goodness I spent most of my career working in distributed teams and on conference/video calls vs.face to face work.
Thank goodness I built my coaching business with a global client base that was already comfortable working via video meetings.
Thank goodness I could go to the beach this summer, look at the ocean, and feel a little bit of normalcy.
Thank goodness for a fall marathon goal that encouraged me to focus on my health and a community of women with a common goal.
Thank goodness for tools like LunchClub where I've gotten to expand my network each week with meetings aligned to my preferences - # of meetings and times. They do all the work for me. If you're interested, use this link to check it out. I've met so many interesting people this way.
I didn't see these things coming...
That a global pandemic would make masks a fashion trend.
That a global pandemic would bring old friends back together to drink cocktails via a Zoom call.
Realizing what I learned in my high school history lessons left out significant parts of the story.
That our election would spotlight how divided of a country we have truly become.
That I would get to a point that I missed driving my kids around to activities.
That I would miss having my DVR filled up with new episodes of the shows that I traditionally watch.
That we would pretty much give up on saying...no more computer/phone screen time to our kids (particularly in the spring).
That my son's 16th birthday would be spent celebrating for less than an hour in the garage of a friend just so he could see people besides his family.
That we would do a Zoom call to celebrate my grandfather's 105th birthday and that his neighbors would drive by his golf cart to wish him happy birthday.
The most important thing though through all of this was the importance of hope that we would find a way through this, support from families, friends, communities, and the recognition that I really don't need a lot of stuff/activity to be happy. I miss the freedom to do all the things I might want to do, but, in reality, I don't necessarily miss all of them.
For many, this time provided a moment of reflection - an opportunity to check in to see their life was really going in the direction they wanted or if they had just been going through the motions.
For some, they still haven't had a chance to breathe - either because of their jobs, medical situations, or managing family situations, including unexpected home schooling while doing a full-time job.
Whatever this year has brought, I would expect that no one expected what ended up happening - the good or the bad. But, what we could have predicted is that we would learn something new about ourselves.
What insights or learnings have you found this year that will take you into next year? Take some time during the closing weeks of the year to think about what you have learned about yourself and what you want from your life.
I hope that you find joy in the small moments each day so that they give you strength when you need it. I wish all of you a healthy and hopefully, happy, holiday season though I'm sure it may feel different than you may have hoped for.
Farewell 2020! Best wishes for an amazing 2021!