A Look Back: 2020

Ahhh 2020. 

The year that we will all never forget. 

It felt like 20 years and yet here we are.

In January I cleaned out my closets and filled out my new planner and said I was ready for 2020 which literally made me laugh out loud. No one was ready for 2020. We started playing Ticket to Ride, and we hosted my family for Ella's birthday. We hosted life group, went to G's work party, went out to eat with coworkers, and went to Saugatuck for G's birthday.

In February I had a girls night with my besties, watched Ella play soccer, and went to church and brunch. We hosted life group, went to lunch with friends, went to dinner with my parents, and celebrated Galentine's Day with my coworkers. G and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary with brunch, I had another girls night, we took advantage of beautiful weather with hikes and grilling and I went to lunch with coworkers.

In March we put an offer on our now current house, went to a fun event with friends (and was the last time I was in a crowd!), and I reorganized my closets and pantry (why can't I keep them organized?!). We did some house projects, had the house inspection and went out to eat with my parents. I went to a girls' night, we hiked with Manny, spent the night at my parents', and helped my brother and SIL move into their new home. We began sheltering in place, working from home, church online, brunch at home, and video calls with family and friends. We supported local restaurants by ordering takeout, enjoyed deck sitting weather, and went for lots of walks just to get out of the house.

In April Manny and I were walking a lot and saw birthday parades and lots of chalk art, I had a Zoom happy hour with my besties, and G and I were packing up to move. G's boss surprised us with donuts, we did more deck sitting, more online church and more homemade brunch. We closed on our old house and our new house, enjoyed our first few sunsets on the lake, and moved (!!). We unpacked, met our amazing new neighbors, and took our first walk in our new neighborhood. We celebrated Easter with brunch and a Zoom call with family, and poor Manny was just confused about everything going on. We cooked more at home, and enjoyed seeing flowers begin to bloom. G got a bird feeder, Manny started settling into the new house, we continued to support local restaurants, joined the rest of the world in watching Tiger King, and received the sweetest care packages from our amazing old neighbors. We started decorating the new house, we purchased porch furniture, we had groceries delivered, and had our first bonfire of the year. We had a Zoom game night with our old neighbors, drank margs on the porch (our new fave spot in the house), and watched American Idol.

In May G made a mask out of a sock (and it was pretty legit, ha!), I had another Zoom girls night, G changed out our kitchen light fixture, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day via Zoom, and started our bathroom renovation. We had happy hours on the porch, went on a pontoon ride with our neighbors, continued online church and took a church membership class (via Zoom, of course). The governor allowed gatherings of ten or less so I finally saw family for the first time since March, we finished the bathroom reno and floated in the lake for the very first time (and it was glorious).

 

In June I started working in the screened in porch, we continued to make the new house feel like home, soaked up all the beautiful sunsets, and truly embraced lake life spending every moment we could on the beach. We had more grocery deliveries, more pontoon rides with our neighbors, more Zoom calls with family, more happy hours on the porch, and saw more chalk art. We hosted life group for the first time in months (socially distant andoutside, of course), my team came over for a picnic (socially distant and outside!), and I went back to work one day a week which was my first time out of the house in three months(!!). We celebrated Father's Day hosting my family at the lake, I had my first pedicure of the year, and we spent a weekend in Detroit.

In July we had a string of 90 degree days which were perfect for floating on the lake (did I mention we love lake living?), celebrating Benny's fourth birthday and an epic family water balloon fight. I started swimming laps in the lake after work, we interviewed to become premarital mentors, and I had a girls night. We hosted G's team from work, saw a meteor, I went to a friend's baby shower, and we grilled and ate a lot of brats. We had a margarita night with our neighbors, had a dance party with Ella and Benny, and I got new kicks since I'm still walking all the time.

In August we went for a sunset cruise with our neighbors, went to the dentist, worked on cleaning up the beach (it's so much work!), I continued to work from home on the porch, and hosted our old neighbors. I turned 37 and had a little bash at the lake with family, G watched Hamilton with me (best birthday gift ever!), we had a BBQ with life group and hosted a few friends for a day of floating. I went to my seventh annual girls' weekend, we had some trees trimmed and chopped down, and our life group came over for some sunset floating. We went to a little wine tasting event at my parents' house, enjoyed happy hours on the porch and continued to grill out as much as possible. We stepped into church for premarital mentoring training for the first time since February, 

In September I finally spotted a deer in our sub, I worked on getting the guest room ready, and my parents spent the night. G and I ate out for the first time since March, we celebrated my mom's birthday, football started again and I brought out my fall candles and for a moment things felt back to normal. G installed sun shades on the screened porch, I went to a Zoom baby shower for my cousin, we kicked off bonfire season, and Manny and I admired the Halloween decorations around the sub. G and I hosted a meet and greet with our premarital couple, I couldn't find paper towel anywhere, we had our last float of the year (insert crying face), and I went to my friend's birthday brunch.

In October we had a soup bar at life group, went to a wine night with new friends we met through mentor training, I got my hair did, and we went up North with our neighbors. I started doing book club with my besties, went to the cider mill with my team, and did some Prime day shopping. The leaves started to change over the lake, we had a few bonfires, and we went out to eat and spent a lovely day with my parents. We planned an impromptu trip to Traverse City and ate at our favorite restaurant, went wine tasting and soaked up the beautiful views and the change of scenery.

In November we were treated to some 70 degree days so I moved my office back to the porch, we did some grilling, I did a little fall décor clearance shopping, and we cleaned out the shed and did yard work. I discovered grocery pick up, we put up our Christmas tree, had more bonfires, and Manny chased geese out of our yard. We went out to eat with our neighbors right before the shut down, G joined me in working from home full time again, we supported local restaurants, saw some epic sunsets, and we started bundling up and drinking our coffee on the porch. Thanksgiving looked a little different this year. It was just us and my parents (we quarantined before we saw them), but we had a great time with them and Zooming with the rest of the fam.

In December we started our Advent wine calendar, I shopped until I dropped at Sam's, we went to our neighbors' for game night, and the lake started to freeze. We continued to support local restaurants, we went to our neighbors' for some Christmas cheer, and enjoyed a few night walks to look at the lights. I had my annual eye appointments, G and I hit up all our fave spots on that side of town, and I hosted a little Quarantine Secret Santa with coworkers (virtually, of course). We celebrated Christmas with family (safely with masks and tables six feet apart) in my brother's garage and it was so nice to see everyone (we haven't seen each other since Sept), and then we went back to my parents' (we quarantined beforehand) and watched their church Christmas Eve service and then had dinner and played games. The next morning we had coffee and mimosas together, and then G and I spent the long weekend watching Christmas movies and reading Christmas books. New Years looked the same it has the past few years which means we stayed home, played games and fell asleep before midnight.

Whew.

What a year.

It was heartbreaking and scary, and yet also hopeful and full of resilence.

Life as we knew it was paused and we found joy in the simple things.

We learned not to take anything for granted (like toilet paper, hugs or finding chicken or Clorox wipes at the store).

We went through a pandemic (and still are going through it), sheltering in place, working from home, social distancing, a racial justice revolution, and a woman was elected into office as VP (!!!).

It was a big, hard year of being woke and being uncomfortable.

But it was also a year of appreciating the little things and getting creative. Birthday parades. Baby showers on Zoom. Face time calls. Supporting restaurants. Getting outside because it was the only thing we could do. Sending care packages. Zoom game nights. Virtual Secret Santa.

I recently read going through 2020 was like running a marathon barefoot without training so give yourself some grace. 

It was the year we will all never forget and will one day read about in history books.

Though it was a hard year for all of us there is always so much to be grateful for and so much growth that will continue into 2021.

I'm refreshed and ready for a sparkling new year. A clean slate. It was fun to reflect, but now I'm excited to set new goals and make this year a good one. 

I'm hopeful 2021 will be brighter and better as the vaccine continues to be rolled out. 

Cheers!