What a decade this year has been!

So - 2020. What happened? Where to start? We all lived it and who wants to talk about it any more? Well, I do. It was the single most tumultuous year of my life and the impacts on me, and on the world, will be felt for decades to come. So come on a journey with me as I reflect on this unbelievable dumpster fire of a year. Are you buckled up?

I was going to go through the year chronologically but since basically every day has been the same for nine months, what's the point? I don't honestly have any idea what I'd like to say, so I'm just gonna type until my thoughts stop. It will NOT be profound, don't worry.

What I've learned, in no particular order:

*The US government is far more corrupt than I ever suspected

*People are more kind than I expected (well, some people, anyway)

*Losing a pet is enormously traumatic. It's been almost a year and I miss my beloved Bolshoi more than ever

*I absolutely hate wearing a mask 

*I absolutely hate being told what to do, especially by people I don't trust

*I love my friends and family more than ever

*Success is not defined monetarily

*My hobby is eating at restaurants and people watching. It's been a deathly dull year for me!

*The world is more broken and full of evil and pain than I ever thought. We need God to fix this mess, stat!

*Even we super introverts need face to face interaction with others. The first six months of this year nearly killed me; I have never felt so alone

*Being humbled is good for you

*Letting someone take care of you helps you both

*It's worth the money to buy good wine

*Less "stuff" = more happiness

*My daughter is an amazing young woman and I respect her enormously

*Never ask if it can get worse. It can and will.

*I bloody HATE the word "unprecedented"

*Never put off doing something fun if you have the chance. You never know when the right to do it can be taken away from you

*Our country is so divided that I honestly don't know if we can come back from all of this

*No one really appears to know what the word "essential" means

*Tiger King was the perfect accompaniment to this year

*I really, really am a night owl

*"Flattening the curve" takes a whole lot longer than I was initially told it would take

*Many people are extraordinarily gullible

*Gathering at church? BAD

*Gathering to "protest"? GOOD

*The Emperor has no clothes but most people think he's well dressed

I know we all had a bad year. I know that 2021 will not be immediately better, and I foresee some extremely difficult times ahead, but there IS hope. Let's try to forgive each other for being Republicans or Democrats or Maskers or Anti-Maskers or for being Law Enforcement or for being black or white or WHATEVER we are holding grudges for. It's not worth it to hold hate in your heart because it only poisons your life. Let it go. Love one another. Let's try to work together to rebuild the world, and hopefully to build it better.