Things I Learned in 2020

 There has been sooooo much learning (and other spicy descriptors that I'll leave to your imagination) this past year. Let's get to it. 

In 2020 I learned:

- how incredibly naive our traditional New Year's Day meal of 'good luck' pork and sauerkraut felt as the months passed

- how to sew a mask, wear a mask, what makes an KN95 mask desirable, and what social distancing means

- mask wearing during a pandemic is good citizenship - period

- seeing crinkly eyes on an otherwise hidden face is heartwarming/reassuring

- social skills are not to be taken for granted.  They require practice   https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/style/self-care/feeling-socially-awkward-even-extroverts-are-a-little-rusty.html?searchResultPosition=1

- wedding ceremonies can be micro sized and continue to have macro impact

- elementary school students wear their face masks all day (even during outdoor recess) with little complaint b/c being in school with friends is very reassuring to them!

- hiking with my eldest daughter in Hawaii is a gift

- everything that includes Hawaii is also a gift

- Zoom

- Kahoot

- nothing - absolutely nothing- can stand-in for a proper hug

- 81,283,485 American voters chose sane, thoughtful leadership in wanting better for everyone in our country; 74,223,744 more voters need to find their way to this 

- losing 59 out of 60 lawsuits (and counting) is the sign of a colossal loser

- having my brother Joe stranded here for six months while awaiting entry back to his South African home served up the gift of connection.  Amen to all of it!

- the world now understands that teachers do whatever it takes, whenever it is needed, however it is possible, with relentless passion.  Ditto for all essential workers

- parents navigating life with school aged children during a pandemic are rock stars 

- livestreaming a cooking class via airbnb Experience with a South Korean cook/travel writer instructing from Seoul was a super satisfying and clever gift from my younger daughter - I feel seen

- kimchi has many, many uses

- makgeolli (milky rice wine) is kimchi's worthy sidekick

- black lives matter - no additional qualifiers needed

- white privilege means a lack of inconvenience.  It is blinding.  It has impact. It needs to be tamed

- having my mom on the planet for 93 years still wasn't enough time; ditto for my 90 year old mother-in-law and 89 year old father-in-law

- a weekly zoom date with four college pals is free therapy

- gratitude begets optimism

- with lyrics like ~ well you never know how far from home you're feeling until you watch the shadows cross the ceiling ~ John Prine's Summer's End goes to my core https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXbEFTv9zr0

 

- reading Circe ignited an unexpected appreciatation for Greek mythology.  Brava local author, Madeline Miller 

- my love for writing and my lack of results begets frustration

- using "begets" twice in a blog post makes me simultaneously chuckle and roll my eyes

- Sweet & Satisfying Tip: "Reminder that if you bought an advent calendar the day after Christmas when they were heavily discounted you can now count down the 25 days until Inauguration Day with chocolate." from @Kaitlin_Benz on Instagram

- democracy is a deliberate action - not a place

- the glory, joy, and humanity of all six seasons of Schitt's Creek (I came to this brilliant show so darn late!)  This clever "adapted for 2020" year-end video brings out the best of these memorable characters and makes me smile over and over

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTenLwKVlxc

Thank you dear, patient reader for indulging this year-end vanity project. May 2021 be satisfying. 

I'll let WH Auden have the last word.

 

How should we like it were stars to burn

With a passion for us we could not return?

If equal affection cannot be,

Let the more loving one be me.

from "The More Loving One" by WH Auden