Highlights of 2020

As the new year begins I find myself thinking about the year that was - perhaps because of the many programmes on TV that talk about it. Their reporting is full of statistics about how the pandemic unfolded, the struggling economy and the number of lives lost ... promising us that 2021 will be different! And so I decided to make my own list of the highlights in 2020 from my perspective. So here they are in no particular order, 2020 in the eyes of this senior.

Our most significance purchase was a Dyson free standing vacuum cleaner! The built-in vacuum systems in the house proved too cumbersome for my arthritic hands to cope with for an extended period of time.

The virtual world became our playground with weekly virtual bridge games and ZOOM chats as well as the occasional concert. Nor will we forget attending our first virtual vestry meeting via ZOOM and watching sermons on YouTube.

We celebrated the one year anniversary of Clarke’s return home from the hospital in September as well as other special days with just the two of us... but that didn’t take away from their importance. Indeed Christmas will be memorable because for the first time in 20 years, I cooked Christmas dinner complete with a turkey in the oven!

Then there were the coffee chats with friends on the patio. The caveat being that they were BYOC (bring your own coffee) and in some cases your own chair! There we were able to enjoy the summer weather a safe 2 metres apart. It was a good year all in all.

As the vaccines begin to roll out across the country we hear that by the fall we should be back to something approaching our ‘normal’ pre-COVID life. And yes, that will be good, especially being able to be with family and close friends in person once again. But I hope we keep some of the lessons we learned along the way... With tomorrow being Epiphany, it is a good time to look at the lessons learned and the insights given in 2020 and to use them to guide our lives through 2021. May these lessons, whatever they may be for each of us, become part of your experience not only this Epiphany but also throughout 2021.

Comments

Judy ImrieJanuary 5, 2021 at 9:13 PM
Hi Lynn: How refreshing your blog is today!! When our grandchildren were tiny, The Wise Men used to cut across our back field and leave a few exotic presents behind. We are sure we occasionally heard the bells of camels and caught the whiff of frankincense. It was a great way to ease out of Christmas and was nearly as much fun. Our granddaughter who was not quite 3 at the time responded to this joy when suddenly her eyes lit up and she belted out:

"In Excelsis Deo" (Forgive the spelling if needs be. My Latin is rusty!)

Thanks for reminding me of this wonderful, happy memory! Ever onward to better times.

Judy Imrie
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