When I look back at my gratitude journal for 2020, there are a couple of themes that come through.
The first is family. Like always, Gilles and our kids and extended family show up a lot. Prior to March, I was regularly grateful for phone calls with my mom and visits to my parents. I always felt so blessed by time with my mom and dad. Since then, I have enjoyed extra time with my dad now that he has moved north.
The feature image for this post is a beautiful watercolour from my favourite Jessica in the whole wide world. I am so grateful for the amazing people with whom my children have chosen to share their lives; we are very blessed with our kids in-law.
Post March, technology starts to make an appearance. I am ever grateful for the ability to “see” and talk to my family. With kids all over the place, I feel like we have done a good job of connecting regularly this year on FaceTime and Zoom, and lots of pictures and messages on our family group chat.
Another journal regular in 2020 was time. I know this isn’t true for everyone, but for me 2020 has meant a slower pace of life. I haven’t been working at one of my part-time jobs and my work as a trustee has all been from home; that means that I don’t have 2 hours of commute time for each meeting.
One of the projects that I took up with this extra time was this blog and I feel like it has been a real gift. I have enjoyed the opportunity to process this year through writing.
I have also used some of that time to explore the outdoors. Although I have to admit you are more likely to find me indoors, I am enjoying the fresh air and beauty of Muskoka on a much more regular basis.
Self-care has also been a priority – meditating, journaling, exercise, yoga, learning new skills, cooking good food. I feel like self-care has been more solitary this year, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing for an introvert.
Looking ahead to 2021
I am hoping to take these lessons from 2020 and bring them into 2021. While I can’t wait to travel and see people in person and hug family and friends, I don’t want to go back to the frenetic pace of pre-COVID life. I hope that I can find a balance between resuming “normal” activities and the slower pace of life since March 2020.
I have seen lots of writing lately about replacing resolutions with a guiding word for the year. I struggled to find a word last year and didn’t ever settle on one (maybe that is related to the “frenetic pace” of pre-COVID life and less time for self-care).
This year I have decided that my guiding word will be “Dance”. As the song says, I will strive to continue to “learn as I go”.
I also think of dance as meaning going outside my comfort zone; pushing myself to try new things and learn new skills. As you can see from this image, dance is not something that comes naturally to me. I was trying to imitate the logo pose and Bridget could not stop laughing at my attempts. Putting the feet in one position and the hands in another seems to be beyond me. And that’s without even trying to move! My dancer child could not relate to my struggle, but we had a good laugh!
So, I’m hoping that 2021 is a year of growth and learning, with “dance” being my guiding word.
