The end of 2020 is in sight. Just a few more hours and the calendar will read January 2021. I keep hearing everyone talking about how they cannot wait for 2020 to be over. That it’s been a terrible year, good riddance to it, and so on. I get it. I’m looking forward to 2021 myself! It has been a terribly hard year for a lot of people and I know, that for some, it’s been a year that has drastically changed lives forever. Jobs were lost, loved ones passed away, our lives were turned upside down…Covid and the restrictions it brought, wildfires, hurricanes, and floods…. It’s easy to recount the bad things that happened to us all. It’s always easier to dwell on the negative than the positive for some reason.
It’s very hard to find good in the middle of despair or joy in the midst of grief and so many of you have had to try to do that this year. I’m not discounting or diminishing anything that anyone has dealt with this year. I’ve cried tears with you and my heart hurts for you when I think about what some of you have been been through. But, when I look back over the our year and then some of the things I’ve seen friends and family post and share, there’s been some good things happen in 2020, too. Babies were born, people met and fell in love, some got married, birthdays were celebrated, kids graduated, people beat cancer, and communities came together and helped each other. Granted, some of those things were celebrated a little differently but they happened. And they were all good. We all grew in ways we never dreamed we could; we did things we never thought we’d have to much less be able to do…remote learning? Work from home? That would never happen! But, we did those things and more. Anyone reading this is still here and that’s a good thing. We found ways to teach and learn and communicate and love on each other that we would never have known if it weren’t for the constraints of 2020. So, this year wasn’t ALL bad!
I know a lot of us don’t want to carry anything from this year into next year but some things are worth carrying over. One of the things I hear when I hear people talking about moving on from 2020 and into 2021? HOPE. I hear hope. Hope for a better year, a better life, a better future. Another thing I hear is THANKFULNESS. Thankfulness for making it through this year. Thankfulness that we can go into a new year with a better appreciation for the things and people in our lives. A thankfulness that we are able to move forward and not be stuck in 2020 forever.
When that calendar changes from 2020 to 2021 at midnight tonight, things aren’t going to magically go back to the way they were ten months ago. Oh, how I wish it could, but that’s not how it works; we all know that. Time marches on just as it has always has. When you think about it, this New Year’s won’t really be that much different than others in the past. We’ll be entering a new year with hope for a better year, anticipation of good things to happen, thankfulness for the opportunities, and determination and motivation to not let it be like last year. That may be the biggest difference…determination to not let next year be like this year. That, and we’ll be a LOT happier to welcome next year than we have been in years past.
Let’s take that hope, thankfulness, and determination into 2021 and make it a great year. Throw in some love and kindness while we’re at it. Happy New Year to all of my friends and family. You are one of life’s greatest blessings and I’m looking forward to sharing this next year with you all!
Gathering Goat Feathers 