2020 in Review

What a year! It was not at all like I hoped and dreamed it would be. When at the end of the year the best you can say is "I didn't die. No one close to me died. I did not contract a deadly virus." that's not much of a year. 

I wanted the year to be about Ashley's senior year of high school and had been able to take pictures of her with her friends celebrating. Instead there are a lot of pictures of her alone, and pictures of her friends on computer screens. At the time we thought her class would be the only one to live a virtual life, but the current seniors are now going through it. 

I am grateful Ashley was able to live on campus at Muhlenberg and made some awesome new friends. I wish I could have met them. We had planned when we visited to take a friend with us to dinner, but with Coronavirus no one wants to take masks off in front of strangers.

I will always feel I was robbed of seeing her gather with her friends to take prom pictures. Of hearing her talk about giving her senior speech after the final musical performance. I'll never see her yearbook signatures because they'll never gather to sign their yearbooks. Basically, because as she was robbed of these experiences, I was robbed of hearing about them.

I am grateful Ashley was able to strike the set from the musical two days before she left for college, and that she was able to do so with her closest friends and faculty members. She got to sign the podium -- a tradition she thought she lost.

The year in pictures.

January: started the year with the Resolution Run, a 5K to raise money for Hillsborough's senior class. Col. Hand marched through Lawrenceville stopping to study The Bridge Academy's signs.

February: With Ashley now driving, I was starting to feel some independence. I went into NYC to see a friend's show, saw an exhibit on mid-century life in New Jersey, and drove nearly an hour for a pickle sandwich. I was enjoying time alone. Don and I toured the Vietnam War Memorial Museum. I was enjoying couple time.

March: As life shut down, we learned to adjust to the "new normal" by facing everyone working/going to school from home, having picnics in the park instead of dining out, going on a Bear Hunt, seeing empty shelves in the grocery stores, and watching people adjust in their own way. Ran what became my last in-person race for the year (Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup 4-miler). Heard a WWII heroine speak only a few days before the world came to a halt.

April: Easter was online. Shifting the in-person world to online. Shifting from thinking we'd be isolating for two weeks to a month to a couple of months. Still not realizing just how long this would be overpowering us. Still hopeful Ashley would finish her senior year in school.

May: Birthday parades were in full swing. Celebrations were apart. Faux Prom. Only met Ashley's first boyfriend (and prom date) once. Thankfully the weather was wonderful. 

June: Graduation was online. Senior year was over with a whisper. She was able to say good-bye to her favorite art teacher, but not to her other favorite teachers. Not the ending we anticipated. A loss that will always be felt as others are allowed to celebrate in the future. Hair salons reopened as did many other small businesses. May they all survive being forced to close.

July: New Jersey's numbers were doing a lot better, so we were able to have a brief ceremony on the football field. I saw a couple of high school baseball games at Waterfront Park, as well as a couple of movies. I also went to my first car concert to see Southside Johnnie perform.

August: Against all odds, against everything we thought possible, Ashley moves into her dorm room at Muhlenberg and stays there for the next 13 weeks, coming home in time for Thanksgiving. Don and I ate out a few times, which these days seems note worthy. Don bought a new-to-him car as the car we bought when Ashley was a baby died on the drive home from Muhlenberg.

September: Don and I enjoyed walking around New York City and dining at a French restaurant in the Meatpacking District to celebrate my birthday. New York is empty. People are very good about wearing masks, but it is not enough.

October: The month is a blur. We traveled to Ohio to explore moving to Westerville, OH. The trip helped us as I pore over Zillow.com ads. The move won't happen until the world feels more settled and Don lands a job with health insurance in Ohio. For Halloween we walked the Boardwalk rather than handing out candy. Beautiful weather meant we could spend a lot of time outside. The weather has been a huge saving grace during this insane time.

November: Ashley came home from college. My gala was over Zoom and Facebook live. Thanksgiving was over Zoom. Life is over Zoom as COVID numbers soared.

December: Something that seemed unimaginable in March became a reality ... Christmas Eve in our cars and online instead of in person. Empty malls. No in-person singing. I can't remember the last time I was invited to an in-person event of any size. We did travel into NYC, careful to wear our masks at all times (which meant no eating in NYC, no supporting their failing economy).

Now we are in January. Friends have received the first dose of the COVID vaccine. There is hope, but there are also soaring numbers from people who insisted on gathering for the holidays and traveling for vacations. We bought a fire pit with the hopes that we can invite friends over to hang outside with us. The timer feature on our camera is getting a lot of use.

May my 2021 retrospective feel more hopeful. In 16 days we'll have a new President, one who will hopefully enact national laws to unite all Americans in this battle.

I may swap out scenes as I see fit. Come back and check out the progress on this post.