Dear 2020,
Don’t let the Door Hit You On Your Way Out…
There aren’t enough metaphors, euphemisms, memes, etc to adequately describe 2020. It was a year of loss on a magnitude that none of us had anticipated.
The loss of loved ones, which so many endured, can not be stated in just a few words or a picture, nor can it be diminished in any way. Our own family was touched with loss due to COVID, and several family and friends were ill, some still trying to recover. It is our hope that you were able to avoid this loss and pain in 2020.
However, loss of some degree was felt by everyone this year. The loss of the school day, the work day, paychecks, privacy, friendships, showers (be honest, there were days you just didn’t take one), trust in our leaders, movies, coffee with friends, fitness, travel, handshakes, our well-being, “normalcy”, HUGS! There are just too many to list here, and you probably thought of some of your own while reading these. There were days that the losses just seemed to be piling up, and anger, frustration, tears, harsh words, and sadness took over. We lost happier moments to these feelings.
Yet everyday someone could be heard saying “I’m so grateful for…” As much as we could relate, it felt wrong to be grateful, when greater loss than we were experiencing was happening all around. The question of being grateful arose often, and still does. Is it okay to be grateful for our jobs, the health of our children, toilet paper on the store shelves, negative covid tests, full cupboards, zoom family get togethers, a walk in the woods?
But maybe that’s just one of the lessons of 2020 - to be more grateful, and to do it in honor of what we lost.
So tonight, in our house, we will be jumping off a chair, eating twelve grapes, wearing seven pairs of underwear, and toasting the New Year at midnight. We’ll also be trying an old European tradition of opening the front door to let the new year in, while ushering the old year out the back door. Let’s face it, it can’t hurt.
Here is to a 2021 that brings you the blessings that you need, whatever they may be.
And 2020, don’t let the door hit you on your way out!
