A Year in Review - 2020

What a year 2020 has been for us!

I first think about the meme I frequently see in social media that says, "When you realize your life really doesn't change that much during a pandemic."  At times that is exactly what I thought! 

I do miss visiting our grandchildren. I miss getting the chance to attend our grandchildren's sporting events like basketball games. I miss just taking a weekend afternoon to go poking around in a thrift store or antique shop. I also have missed having teachers just stop by and sit across the desk from me and chat.

What I haven't missed is long hours in a vehicle going to those sporting events or trekking to and from work each day or packing a lunch each day.  Those things haven't been a part of this year but I haven't missed out on that part of the events.

I also haven't missed being in meeting after meeting because we have had loads of virtual meetings! I haven't missed lots of things in regard to work because as an instructional technology coach, that part of my job keeps going. Sometimes it has just looked a little different or it has taken even more time to put together or make the connections because it has been virtual rather than face to face.  

All-in-all, things have been different for us to a certain degree but not that much worse.  For that I am eternally grateful.

These are the things I've noticed when I look in the mirror at our year:

1. I've made fewer blog posts this year. That was more than last year but far less than most years. I think I've made fewer posts for the last couple of years because the demand for me sitting in front of a screen with my fingers on the keyboard at work has been far greater. Last year I was assigned to support a 1:1 pilot school and this year... well, there has been a pandemic and I often spend twelve to sixteen hours at my computer working in hopes of supporting teachers who are working so hard.
2. Still the most popular posts I have made for the general audience have been the ones about our bay window seat. That is one of the posts that I made in the first year of blogging back in 2011! The most popular posts from this year are the birthday posts for family members. Those stats tell me that this blog is exactly what I intended for it to be - a journal where I share ideas, photos, and information with my family and close friends. 
3. Other than the post about our first grandson's birth back in 2013, the peak of readership for this blog was in March! I'm certainly attributing that to the pandemic! Folks were sent home. They were inside. They were looking for something to entertain themselves with and my family was certainly no different! It looks like readership took a leap at the end of most months this year. So, that makes me think that my family sat down at the end of the month and caught up by looking to see what I'd posted! Readership was also higher this year than any other year. I'm attributing that to the fact that more of my grandchildren are readers and have access to technology so they can look at their birthday posts! Ha!
4. Like a lot of people who were confined at home this year, we got a lot of home projects done during that time. Some of it was by choice and a result of being cooped up and wanting to get things straight - like Project #1. Then, combine that with having a helper, brings me to Project #2.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Some things got done that had been put off for a while and I guess that being at home made me really realize that those things needed attention - things like Project #3, Project #4, the Porch Furniture, and Project #5. Mike spent more time working in the hay field and growing our vegetables and making certain that we had meat in the freezer to fill our bellies.
   
   He also jumped into making jerky when a friend gave him some deer meat and has branched out to making beef jerky as well. Prepping and sharing the meat products has sort of become like a part-time job for him! Harris and I worked on my pantry a bit and then, we had our handyman service really do some work on the pantry to make it far, far more user-friendly. I realize now that I didn't even write blog posts about that! (Maybe I will make photos of the pantry and share in the coming year!)
   
   I got more of the plastic bins with handles like Luci and I used in Project #2 and had Harris here to help me do some sorting and organizing. We put many pantry staples into jars and sorted those jars into like items such as baking supplies or baking mixes or condiments and such. Harris was good at sorting and he was really good at combining partial bags of chocolate chips and such to fill jars. When he was visiting in July, during the heat of the day, we would work on the pantry project so that he would have the afternoons free to ride on the ATV or even drive it with Mike!
   
   
   As always, it is great to have the grandchildren come to visit and stay with us for a while. We always have such fun with them and love the chance to get to experience their personalities up close with no distractions.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   And, I think they really like to visit and do some of the things we do with them as well!
   
   
   
   
5. Another big thing that got done this summer was one that was not really planned. Nor was it even on the horizon. However, massive rainfalls and flooding bumped it up on the list of things to get done because it became a necessity for us and a financial necessity as well.  That was the building of our bridge.  Technically that was a Fall Project and I wrote about it with a solution as well.  
   
   That is one of those projects that we look at and appreciate each and every day. Sometimes begrudgingly because it took such a bite out of our pocketbook but always as a relief that it was a solution to what seemed to be an expensive problem that kept recurring.
6. One of the things we had planned and worked into the budget was to update our front door. The settling of the house over time, the wind damage to the storm door, the drying and damage of cracking the wood of the front door had really taken a toll and our entry door just needed some attention, especially since I had come to look at the front porch as an oasis during the hot summer days. So, we hired a handyman to do some odd jobs that we weren't confident at working on such as patching drywall and adding an electrical outlet to the back porch and adding a fan to the front porch oasis. 
   
   Then, we also had him replace the front entry door. That one project probably made the most difference in my appreciation of this home as my oasis, my sanctuary of anything we have done in a long time! I am just enamored with it and catch myself smiling as I walk by it or through it. It is beautiful and exactly as I saw it in my mind's eye when we first started saving money and talking about updating it!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. There were other pluses to being home and enjoying our blessings provided by living on this farm in a suburban area. The nature that we really had the opportunity to observe and enjoy is one of them. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Having a virtual courtside seat to every single one of our granddaughter's basketball games was another. I probably could not have attended each one in person due to my work schedule but having them live streamed meant that Mike and I could sit at my large computer monitor right here in our house and watch and I could yell and cheer to my heart's content with nobody bothered by it other than Toby and Mike! And trust me, there was lots of yelling and cheering going on!
   
8. I made time to do some things that I might not have otherwise. Instead of feeling tired at the end of the day and facing a long commute through traffic when I finished work early enough to have time outdoors, I actually wanted to get outside and do something. That is one reason I took on creating the wreaths for the fence at the driveway entry and why we often will just take a ride on the ATV just at dusk to enjoy our own holiday lights!
   
   
   
   
9. I also came to appreciate something that I've never really enjoyed a lot - shopping. Well, online shopping! I really do like ordering and having it delivered far better than I've ever liked trekking over store after store and searching for gifts, groceries, and items we needed. I realized just how much on the day that two delivery trucks were in our driveway at the same time!
   
   As I sat at my desk and worked, one delivery truck passed another bringing in the Christmas gifts I had ordered for the grandchildren and children. I just picked up my phone and snapped a picture through the window to document it! Then, another day, I saw a delivery guy bringing a big load of the items I'd ordered for family Christmas presents and felt a strong sense of appreciation for him and the fact that he was saving me lots of steps and from having to drag those things from store to truck to the house. It is far, far better to step out onto the front porch and simply bring the boxes into the house! With ten blessings as grandchildren who we would like to spoil and eight children and spouses, we feel bountiful and blessed in a great way!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   We truly are blessed to have the luxury of online order and delivery and the wherewithal to be able to take advantage of it and that fact never escapes us! We have made it a policy to tip well and let the delivery folks know verbally and, when asked by the delivery company, provide a good rating as well as offer them a treat if they would like it.
   
10. This year has been one where we watched with horror as other folks vandalized and looted in nearby Nashville and all over our country while others were peaceful in seeking fairness. We experienced shocking and ridiculous division in our government that is just unbelievable to fathom. We have been shocked, appalled, and disappointed when we hear or see family, friends, and acquaintances who have come to believe that it is alright to speak ill of others or put them down just because the other person's beliefs are different or actions and ideas are different from their own. When is it ever alright to call people names or put them down just because they are different? We were forced to learn new ways to do things such as teach students or learn to read and learn how to use technology for that so that others could be protected from the risks posed by a disease. We watched and made an effort to support neighbors who were struggling due to businesses closing or being overworked due to the effects of other people's illness from this horrible disease. Yet, all of these things really did open our eyes to lots of things and provided us with a reason and ways to grow and try to become better human beings. For that I am ever grateful and lift up thankfulness.

So, while 2020 has certainly been a very different year from others that we have lived and that I have written about here on this little blog, it really has had some positives.  I am grateful for each of those positives. I also look forward to sharing new joys and hopes and ideas with the few friends and family members who visit here and I thank you for your visits and for your encouragement!