Pulling positivity from 2020’s dumpster

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/11/2020 (1921 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The other day I asked people on Twitter: “What’s the best thing that’s happened to you in 2020?”

A loaded question, seeing that this year could easily be considered the worst year ever. Or, in the very least, the worst year many of us have lived through or can remember.

However, I posed this question and there were a lot of people who took time to answer it. Their responses varied dramatically, and the highlights in their lives ranged from things like simply waking up each day to adding a new skin-care routine to spending more time with the kids.

Some people found love, while others lost love, yet found an appreciation for the extra time 2020 gave them to spend with the one they lost. A couple of people bought new houses, or had babies; some got married and a few started new jobs, both near and far.

There were a couple of responders who, through the pandemic, endured and survived chemo, and beat cancer.

Despite this year being a near catastrophe in so many ways, there were moments of goodness, sometimes on their own, or sometimes overlapping with a bad one. But each person who responded to my tweet was able to find those moments and share them like a badge of honour and some much needed medicine for the rest of us.

Joy and hopefulness, even if they belong to others, are welcome commodities. I’ve discovered I need to hear about the good things in other people’s lives, especially now and especially when I’m struggling. Knowing that there are speckles of goodness all around me, amid this new COVID normal, helps me, and it makes me feel less alone. It makes me realize that today may not be my good day, but it’s someone else’s good day.

Sometimes that gets to be the best part of my day.

This week and the weeks before it have been a muddle of trying to work from home, maintain routines, keep on top of the kids’ homework and give my family a break from the excessive screen time and takeout dinners we’ve consumed. The house is a mess, I have baskets of laundry that need to be folded before the kids grow out of the clothes, and I need a nap because I am so tired. The grind doesn’t stop when you stay home, it’s just different.

I’m longing for that sense of normalcy that was snatched away from us at the beginning of the year. But that’s gone. The world out there has changed and it’s going to look a lot different when we are able to venture back into it. That’s not a bad thing.

I’ve decided the most important thing is to forget chasing what I used to and to take a second to appreciate what I have right now. Like all the people who responded to my tweet, I have a lot of things to be grateful for. This year, though trying, has had some good moments.

I get to see my kids more. I got laid off earlier this year, and it forced me to separate myself from my career. My dogs have never been happier. Although I don’t see my family as much as I used to, I am still close to them and know they’ve got my back.

I don’t want to sound preachy or cheesy. I don’t want to simplify or overlook some of the hardships people have been hit with. I know things have been and are so difficult right now, and I know a lot of people who have experienced some of their darkest moments this year. But, if you’re able, I hope you can find some of the good moments too.

I read an apt unattributed quote on Facebook the other day. It said: “We are not all in the same boat, but we are all in the same storm.”

@shelleyACook

shelka79@hotmail.com