So long, 2020

When I started my weekly posts for 2020, I expected to share a year of adventure. In February I went out with a friend and declared that one of my goals for 2020 was to travel somewhere, near or far, every month. We were already off to a good start in January after a quick weekend trip to Coeur d'Alene. I was thinking about Nelson, B.C. for February. We were about to book tickets to France and Spain for March. My friend suggested we try for a group trip to Walla Walla in April (maybe for my birthday!). Other big milestones were on the horizon, so it just felt like a year to get out and go places.

Memories of these kinds of conversations are what many of us look back on as reasons the year was cursed. We brought it upon ourselves, making these grand plans, feeling optimistic and itchy to do something in a year with such an important ring to it: 2020. Our blind optimism caused these plans to evolve into uncertainty, then into cancelled itineraries, and then into a year in which I barely needed car insurance due to driving less than 3,000 miles. Superstition aside, as a result, this blog ended up being just a heightened version of what it was always meant to be - a place to share things I've made (and read and watched and listened to) -- only this time, it was because it was all I could do. It became, unintentionally, a pandemic journal. 

I learned at an early age that if I picture how I want things to turn out too clearly, I will be disappointed. I learned much later that no matter what happens, the one thing I can control is my response to a situation. I pictured a year of going places, but gosh darn it if by the end of it I didn't make the most out of staying put. 

Little did I know that maintaining the routine of writing here each week would become crucial to my mental health. Every Sunday, I'd think about what stood out about the past week, both good and bad. It helped me pinpoint things I needed more or less of in the week ahead. It helped me process challenging events. Each time I hit "Publish" was a sort of celebration that I made it through another week, all things considered. We all adapted to this year, for better or worse. I'm grateful to be able to look back and see how I did it.

Though I'm holding my hopes for 2021 loosely, I'm carrying the gratitude I accumulated this past year into another year of uncertainty, knowing that I am blessed beyond measure to have a small home to keep, people to love and who love me, a job that brings challenges and fulfillment and a steady paycheck, dear friends who live within a mile, a bluff and a valley at the end of the block to throw my cares to, a good data plan on my phone, and, obviously, hobbies to keep my life interesting. 

This is the last of my weekly posts, not just because 2020 is ending but because I need a break! I will return but on a less predictable schedule. In the meantime, thank you for sticking it out with me and if you've been reading for any number of weeks, I hope you found some inspiration to keep notes about your life, to start (and maybe finish) new projects, or that you at least got some good book or movie recommendations.

Cheers, and Happy New Year.