Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021

The holidays are over and this is always such a bittersweet time for me. I find it so hard to move on. I reflect on the memories of the year before and I’m usually reluctant to let it go. Not this year! I am ready! Ready for the new year and hopeful for all it will be. So today I am saying goodbye 2020, hello 2021!

The Christmas season looked a lot different this year. There were no big family gatherings. No Christmas concerts, no visits with friends or trips to warmer climates. No great memories to file away. But… thanks to a very special gift from my sister-in-law, I realized that I could still find a few reasons to feel grateful before I say goodbye 2020.

Every year, Diana gives us an ornament for our tree to go along with her gifts. Knowing our love of the ocean, they are usually something fun and beachy. A woody with a tree on top, a flip flop sign, and a parrot that has me singing Margaritaville every time I see it are just a few favorites from years past.

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This year, however, she gave us exactly the ornament we needed.

The ornament itself was very pretty but I was a bit confused. I assumed the strips of paper were to fill the ornament but the meaning was lost on me. She told me that I should write the blessings from this year on the strips. The very fact that she was telling me this during a FaceTime call instead of in person, made that seem all the more absurd. But she told me to think about it for awhile and she gave me my first strip: Family.

Family

Although we were celebrating Christmas by FaceTime, we were all here. Is there any greater blessing than that? We did not lose a family member this year like so many did. Both my children were right here under my roof. Yes, we were doing Christmas by phone with the rest of the family, but we were all still here. My heart breaks for everyone who could not do that. I pray 2021 brings some peace to those who have lost someone dear.

Friends

We saw friends of ours deal with a loss, fight the virus themselves, and suffer many hardships this year. I hope that we have done a good job of letting them know we are there for them. In this crazy year, I know many friendships fell by the wayside. Besides dealing with the pandemic, this was a year full of division for so many. Politics, civil unrest, to mask or not to mask… so many things that put us at odds. The friendships that survived all that are true blessings.

Home

Home has always been important to me but I don’t think I realized to what extent until it became an actual sanctuary during lockdowns. Early in the year before we knew much about the virus, the fear of it was a bit overwhelming. Any time I ventured out I prayed I would make it home safely. Walking through the door again, knowing I was safe inside, is a feeling I will never take it for granted again. I pray that relief comes quickly for those who are in danger of losing theirs.

Strangers

This one is not as odd as it sounds. I am talking about the essential workers that helped us stay safe through this year. The people that I do not know personally. The grocery store workers, the delivery drivers, and countless others. Those that from the very beginning were designated “essential workers.” They couldn’t be safe and stay home like I could. They would have lost their jobs, their livelihood. These are the people that I am ashamed to say, I didn’t appreciate.

I wondered how many times in the past that I went shopping without ever speaking to anyone. I would get my groceries, go through self checkout, and never even notice the people who were working around me. Likewise, the people who delivered all my orders to my door, I’m sorry! Thank you so very much!

Just one more…

Diana was right! I was given so many blessings this year. I am so grateful that through this pretty ornament, I was able to see that. Thank you Diana! You are and have always been one of my greatest blessings!

So as I say goodbye 2020, I do so with a grateful heart!

Wait!

I have one more strip of paper. One more blessing to remember. YOU! You are that blessing. This little blog and all of you have helped me through this year. Although sometimes I struggled with how trivial a post was given everything going on in the news, I also hoped it might help take your mind off your worries as it did for me writing it. Thank you so much for being a part of my world!

I know there are so many people out there that have dealt with so much more than I have this year. I have also been amazed by the people who consistently step up to help out others in so many different ways. To find assistance in your area, a call to 2-1-1 can point you in the right direction. You can also go to 211.org as well.

So… Goodbye 2020! While I cannot say I’m sad to see you go, I accept that you taught me about what’s really important in life.

Hello 2021! I’m hopeful, a little bit wiser, and so ready to meet you!!