Reflecting On 2020

Libby James

When I look back at my calendar for 2020, the first few months look so normal.

There was book club, dinners out and at friends’ homes, movies, a neighborhood pot-luck, in-person gatherings with a writers’ group—and then bang—along came March 27 when writers’ group was to be at my house. The gathering that was to be at my house is marked canceled in my calendar, as were several other planned events at the end of March.

That was the month that marked the beginning of an extraordinary time in all our lives. It has affected everyone.  Those who claim to be introverts have discovered how much we value and need relationships with friends. As 2020 rolls toward a close, we have been forced to adjust as best we can to the new reality. We don’t leave home without a mask. We seldom leave home at all.

For some of us, a daily walk has become an everyday necessity, regardless of the weather. Others find ways to fill their lives with everything from major housecleaning and the discarding of things no longer needed to reading or writing and staying in touch via phone, Internet, and an occasional in-person greeting mumbled from behind a mask.

I’m guessing that we all anticipate an eventual return to “normal,” whatever that is. No doubt the new normal will be different from the normal we once knew. Human beings don’t deal well with uncertainty. Most anything is easier to deal with when we know when it will get resolved and come to an end.

Meanwhile, we have no choice. We hang in there and do the best we can with present circumstances. We don’t have to like it. No doubt some goodwill emerge because of this strange and difficult time we are going through.

We hope for the best for our family members, especially the young ones whose plans have been thrown into disarray. As we approach this holiday season, we’re busy with sending greetings to friends and deciding how we can best acknowledge the season to our close family members and friends during a time when getting together is at a premium.

It is a time when it may be best not to take ourselves too seriously. After all, things could be worse. Let’s share some humor, the best stress reliever around.