#2020

An incomplete list of reasons why it’s been one hell of a (good) year

• We were scared but we didn’t panic; we just hoarded toilet paper for a few weeks.

• We could have been so much worse.

• We were all in it together, everyone in the world united against a common enemy.

• We were praised for staying home; we relished the chance to do nothing.

• We cut carbon emissions by monumental amounts.

• We were forced to slow down and spend time with ourselves.

• We got to really live where we live, to spend time in our homes, to enjoy what we have, to take stock of what we own, to purge what we don’t need.

• We started creative projects. Or we thought about doing them. Or we didn’t. And we cut ourselves slack every step of the way.

• We ate the food, drank the drinks, let our roots grow out, stopped shaving, stopped wearing makeup, learned how to do wing eyeliner, learned how to paint our own nails, stopped obsessing about every aspect of our appearance. We stopped putting such a priority on superficial appearance, especially the parts of us outside the Zoom camera frame.

• We learned the value of mute.

• We stopped avoiding our neighbors and started cultivating a connection with them—from an acceptable distance.

• We took the time to reconnect with old friends, to catch up with our families, to have real discussions with the people who really matter to us.

• We allowed ourselves space to grieve.

• We caught up on sleep.

• We got creative with our spaces, carving out offices and classrooms inside our homes and learned to be teachers while realizing that teachers (and grocery store clerks) are the most under-appreciated and underpaid heroes among us.

• We ugly cried without shame.

• We clapped and honked and cried for the nurses and doctors and other frontline workers of all the essential professions.

• We expressed our sincere gratitude, and we meant every word.

• We stopped commuting.

• We didn’t miss traffic one bit.

• We spent more time outdoors.

• We saved so much money not buying new clothes or new shoes or special occasion outfits.

• We cleaned out our closets; we donated to thrift stores … and while we were there, we found some incredible treasures that brought us joy to bring home.

• We watched amazing shows and films we had been meaning to watch for years, and then we found time to watch the not-so-amazing ones, too— and we loved them all, even if only for the talking points.

• We made our pups so happy their tails almost wagged right off.

• We saw the. best. memes. And we shared them because we all could use a good laugh. And we all laughed when we saw the one with a photo of a “gather” sign captioned, “That’s illegal, Karen.”

• We slept in, stayed up late, and reverted to our natural circadian rhythms—alarms be damned, for a little while at least.

• We got in heated discussions about tigers and Carole Baskin.

• We saw the faces of our friends and family when we talked to them. We saw their homes. We got a little window into their lives

• We shared our fears, we talked about our emotions, we knew we weren’t alone—even if and when we were.

• We let ourselves love.
• We let ourselves dream.

• We let ourselves care.

• We spoke out against injustices.

• We joined together and we marched.

• We voted the assholes out.

• We stopped trying to control the future.

• We stopped living in the past.

• We got used to wearing masks.

• We finally made it through this unprecedented year.

• And we’re ready for whatever’s next!