Last December when I sat down to write my annual newsletter to send along with my Christmas Cards, I remember feeling so full of hope and anticipation for what I thought was going to be an incredibly memorable year. So many wonderful events were heading our way; Dave would be retiring at the end of January and we would be free to travel. In June we would celebrate forty years of marriage and then just one week later, our son, Andy and his finance, Ariel were to going to be married in the presence of many family members and friends. Prior to the wedding, Andy and Ariel had made arrangements for many of us to spend a relaxing week at Lakeside, a resort on the shores of Lake Erie where we could gather and in-laws bond. It goes without saying that things didn’t turn out exactly as I had imagined.
2020 didn’t even begin as I had expected. Our New Year’s Eve plans of a quiet celebration in Colonial Williamsburg with friends were frequently interrupted by my sneezing and nose blowing, resulting from a nasty head cold that just didn’t seem to let up. I welcomed in 2020 with a red nose and a Hall’s cough drop in my mouth.
A few weeks later I developed what I thought was a strain of the flu not covered by my annual inoculation that had me laid out for more than a few week and resulted in our cancelling travel plans to Georgia to celebrate my mother’s 85th birthday. My hopes of spending more time in the gym, getting myself in shape for the wedding and my bathing suit didn’t happen. And then COVID19 entered our lives.
Something that didn’t happen was Dave’s retirement. A few days before his final day of work he was recruited into a new part-time position that seemed like the perfect segue from full time employment into retirement. His daily trips to his new office quickly evolved into telecommuting.
I suppose if I were writing a novel, my Christmas newsletter would be the set-up and introduction of characters and “the Virus” would be the crisis to be overcome. And for the most part, despite the fact we are living in the midst of an historic pandemic, we are overcoming it.
Dave and I did indeed celebrate 40 years of marriage this month. Instead of a huge party, we shared a quiet dinner out with friends as our local restaurants began to open as Virginia entered Phase 2. And, this past weekend, Andy and Ariel were married, not in a gazebo overlooking Lake Erie as they’d planned but instead in their backyard in Oregon under a flower covered arbor among a handful of friends. Our daughter Maggie officiated and Andy’s friend Dylan served as best man, both representing their extended families and friends as the rest of us watched lovingly via Zoom.
As years go, 2020 has challenged us more than most and there are still lingering questions about whether or not we’ll be able to live the second half of the years in a normal fashion. Will we be able to safely travel to see my parents? Will there be a second wave of the virus? What will the Holidays be like in a time of social distancing?
While our future plans are more uncertain than usual, one thing is for sure and that is for every challenge there is an opportunity for growth and a realignment of priorities. Our response to the obstacles 2020 has thrown in our plans has shown us that there is a way forward. It may not be the way we would like, but nonetheless, our lives do move forward. Just as it’s said that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, the best way to move through life right now is one day at a time; jumping over or side-stepping the obstacles as they come along.