Sunday, January 3, 2021

My Word is Optimism

Hello 2021! Can I say that we have all been very much looking forward to meeting you? Your older brother, 2020 wasn't all that great to us so we have a lot of optimism that you are going to treat us better. I am very hopeful that you will! A  year ago when the calendar flipped to 2020, it was sure an exciting time. Not only were we marking the annual tradition of celebrating a new year, but we were also welcoming a new decade! That, my friends is something that only comes along once every ten years!

We weren't too deep into the new year when this thing called COVID-19 began to rear its ugly head. Admittedly we began to hear about this new virus in late December, and early January it was still on the other side of the world so we didn't pay too much attention. For us here in Iowa, it may as well have been on another planet. The first case in the United States landed on our shores on January 20th in the state of Washington. From there, while still far far away it was only a 'hop, skip, and a jump' from Iowa. By the time spring break arrived, we were in the thick of it, and basically have been ever since. For the last year, our daily lives have been driven by this thing. Everything we do and everywhere we go has to be carefully considered and in some instances choreographed. 

Early on, most of us probably didn't know who Anthony Fauci even was and had no use for the Institute for Health Metrics modeling program from the University of Washington. We were all aghast at this forecast and predictions that we would be dealing with this for a year seemed all but unfathomable. Unfortunately in retrospect, those prophecies appear to be largely coming true. The good news is that we are almost a year into it and the sun is beginning to peak over the horizon. My prediction is that spring break will mark a huge turning point for us, which ironically enough will mark the one year point in this saga. 

If you search this blog archive, you'll note that my one word for last year was 'connect'. I chose that word in an effort to build better connections with those around me. The idea, metaphonically, was when meeting people in the hall to really mean it when asking, 'How are you doing?' So upon reflection the question that needs to be pondered is how well did I do with this? In a lot of ways this was quite a challenge since those exchanges in the hallways were (and continue to be) quite rare. For the most part we have had to rely on making those connections remotely. In spite of the difficulty in making strong personal connections via Zoom, phone call, or any other socially distanced medium, I think I did pretty well in making connections. Truth be told, I really meant it when I asked people how they were doing. And when people asked me how I was doing, I think they really wanted to know as well. The fact of the matter was, even though we all put on a brave face, we weren't really doing all that well. But that was then. I wouldn't say that I'm great right now, but getting better for sure. 

I've heard it said before that as humans, we can pretty much endure anything for a year. As long as we can see an end point, we can make the sacrifices necessary in order to get through our current challenges. All through this pandemic I have been looking forward to that one year mark in my head. While we may not be completely out of the woods by spring break, I believe we are going to be well on our way. So then as we approach the one year point in this journey, the word I choose this year is optimism. All through this past year we have all had to endure enormous challenges. Some have had to bear much heavier crosses than I. Those folks, well watching them show the courage to endure has been inspiring to me to witness. Their strength give me hope and optimism!

Those who are students of history understand that the pandemic of 1918 helped usher in a decade that became known as the Roaring '20s. I believe we will see something similar begin to happen this year. Be ready, because I see quite a celebration on the horizon!


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