As we finish off the last of the holiday cookies and box up the Christmas decorations, our attention turns inevitably toward the new year. Many of us ordinarily dive head first into the new year, toasting with champagne, ringing bells, kissing our significant others and proclaiming that indeed this will be our year. It is with a bit more apprehension than usual that we welcome 2021. But, rather, with great joy that we say goodbye 2020.
It is ironic that for the first time in history, hindsight will actually be 2020. And it is certainly undeniable that this year has been a challenge, for some more than others. But as we say goodbye to the old year and hasten in the new, let’s try to remember some of the good things that happened in the past year.
A Grateful Goodbye 2020
I try to live a grateful life, but it wasn’t until I heard one of the girls proclaim 2020 as a total disaster that I had to call myself out on that line of thinking. Certainly we took our lumps a bit more than usual.
My father passed away in May following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. In his last few months it seemed like he couldn’t catch a break.
Our family was to celebrate two high school graduations and one college graduation, all of which were cancelled due to COVID. College life was adjusted for the younger two making their on-campus life not quite what they had imagined. And COVID made getting a job difficult for my college grad.
Two of the five people in our household have had COVID, including one over the Thanksgiving holiday. Face masks are a thing now and we’ve spent some time in quarantine. On top of that, I picked 2020 to launch a blog about living in and travelling around Ohio.
But there were a lot of positives too. Those of us with COVID survived, and I know that not everyone does. As essential workers, my husband and I both still have our jobs, though they are much more hectic than usual. My oldest wasn’t able to get the full time teaching position she wanted. She did however land in a long term substitute job that will sustain her through this school year.
COVID Careful Travel
While COVID restricted our travel, we were fortunate to get in a trip just before this all started. That was especially important because we got to have one last visit with my dad before he passed. I will always have those great memories.
We also spent a few days at Disney and took a short cruise on the same trip. With our girls graduating in 2020 we wanted to take them on a special trip, and we were still able to do that.
Though we were very careful about masks and social distancing, we were still able to see some great things here in Ohio. We visited several Ohio state parks:ortage Lakes, Deercreek, Hocking Hills, Lake Hope, Marblehead, Buckeye Lake, South Bass Island and Zaleski State Forest. We spent a day tubing on the lake at Pleasant Hill and took a ferry on Lake Erie’s waters to Put-in-Bay.
We visited college campuses in Ohio including Ohio University in Athens, Malone University in Canton, the University of Rio Grande in southern Ohio and The Ohio State University in Columbus. I am certainly grateful for all the learning opportunities that this state provides.
More Time at Home
We got to spend more time at home, something our dog Pumpkin enjoyed immensely. We took him to local parks like Walnut Woods and the Park of Roses in Columbus. And occasionally we took him through the drive-thru at Starbucks for a pup cup.
At home we played board games. We added flower beds and put in our vegetable garden. New dishes were discovered and invented in the kitchen. We did a budget remodel of one of the bathrooms.
The girls fished in the pond down the street from us. During the holidays, we made homemade Christmas ornaments and spent extra time decorating out cookies. And I had some more time to work on this blog, something I really enjoy.
Celebrations Continue
We celebrated milestones, in COVID style of course, but still we celebrated. Our oldest graduated from college, got engaged. Later she accepted her first teaching assignment as a long term substitute.
Our twins graduated high school. It wasn’t the graduation they anticipated, but their school administration, local businesses and more did everything they could to make it special. Then in late August, we packed them off to college.
Though our usual fall docket of favorite fairs and festivals was cancelled for the season, we were still able to visit a pumpkin patch and pick out a few to carve. October had us visiting the girls at college and we hiked through the Moonville Tunnel. That was one Ohio adventure I was able to cross off my bucket list.
At Thanksgiving, the girls came home from school and shortly after we kicked off the holiday season. We visited drive-thru and socially distanced light displays and even made a special trip to the Franklin Park Conservatory lights. We did our Christmas shopping online and in person where it was practical, and spent more dollars in small, local businesses than we had before. And COVID or not, Christmas came and we celebrated together.
Goodbye 2020
As together we say goodbye 2020 and look forward to the new year, take a few moments to appreciate the good times. Remember, we were still able to celebrate through all of this madness. Though we are likely angry over what it has taken from us, there were good times as well. Let’s focus on those as we move forward into 2021.
And as I said, I know that we were very fortunate this year. I understand that has not been the case for all of us and for all of those hurting over the loss of jobs or loved ones due to the corona virus, my thoughts are with you. I hope that the new year will bring you joy and opportunities that you right now might struggle to imagine.
Thank you for FindingOhio with us in 2020. We truly enjoy bringing your the best of this state. It is our hope that you will find our content useful and that perhaps you will discover a new idea, recipe or destination in Ohio.
And, as always, we appreciate you sharing our articles to social media. That helps us get the word out about our site and helps people to find our state and all of it’s amazing people, locations and businesses. Happy New Year!
