2020 – How it Started vs. How it Ended

Let’s first just state the obvious – 2020 was a dumpster fire, s**tshow of a year, a lot bad, but I think a lot of good has come out of it.

Black lives and the injustices have finally come to light and we (ie white people) have been learning. We’ve also learned (or at least some people) how crucial essential workers are and how hard doctors, nurses and teachers work.

I’ve gotten to spend more time with Evie! She had some health scares in March and April but now she is doing great.

We have a new government coming in January. Will things immediately change and improve? No, but at least this is a (tiny) step in the right direction.

We saw some powerful women lead globally. Hopefully everyone will begin to see that women are the future.

So what have I been doing during this time and how did my goals stand up for 2020? As a reminder (more to myself) my goals for 2020 were:

1. Physical Training – I’ve done ok here, lacking on the running and obviously my half marathon was cancelled but I have signed up for another in June 2021.
2. Health – this one hasn’t been so great. Maybe one day I’ll write a post about the fun of auto-immune illness.
3. Sustainability – When the pandemic started, this went downhill. But since I’ve become more diligent in recycling, donating to needed organizations (rather than Goodwill) and have tried to reduce waste.
4. Evie – success!

Since March (working remotely) I’ve picked up a few more hobbies and have learned new skills. Clearly blogging has not been a priority (after working all day, spending more hours at my computer wasn’t ideal). I’m also a bit behind on updating my photos and learning more on Photoshop.

I have begun watercoloring and have been using it to get away from a screen and it’s really helped clear my head.

Early this year I took some online classes to focus on taking photographs of subjects. I’ll be starting more classes like this soon.

And yes, I have baked. But I was always a baker and this year I’ve forayed into breads. No sourdough starter here, but I think I’ve made a few good ones.

I’ve also taken a few quick 1-day road trips to Lassen National Park, Tahoe National Forest and Yosemite. I’ve basically mastered driving for 8-9 hours in one day while hiking about 4 hours in the middle. My body however, has not mastered how to handle this.

Me and the pup as took a 10-day “vacation” to Southern Oregon (Ashland) and I fell in love (again) with Oregon.

Overall this year taught me to slow down, appreciate life, the outdoors and others.

My goals for 2021? The two main are getting back to focusing on my overall health (not just physical) and facing my fears on taking some big steps to my future.

Does anyone have New Years superstitions or things they do to enter the new year with good luck? The South eats black eye peas and collard greens (did that once and that year didn’t go well). Happy to take ALL recommendations!