Dear 2020....

Grateful 

Bare with me here...lots of words, not many pictures and zero decor ideas. No pinning, no links! If thats not floating your boat today then I'm cool if you want to skip on past ! This year... oiy. A toughie to say the least. I'm putting all the 2020 thoughts together ( ish!) in one place , mostly so I'll have it to look back on and hopefully be able to smile and say...wow we got through that!!! So it's more for me but I hope you can get something from it too!  Read on my friends....

Dear 2020

I am summing up this year of yours in two all caps words...YOU SUCKED, and we still aren't done, but I am pretty much done with you. 

Don't worry I'm not going to moan and groan the whole way through this but I do want to highlight some really crap moments because you have been devastatingly hard on our planet, our countries, our communities, our neighbourhoods and workplaces. Each one of us far and wide has been touched personally in some way by the this crazy COVID 19 virus and world wide pandemic, which has taken loved ones too soon , closed schools, closed businesses and isolated people that were meant to be together. Cancelled holidays, weddings, graduations - life put on hold. This year has also seen way too much violence and ugly and unacceptable human injustices. We have been shown its acceptable to lie and encourage hatred from people in power. We have seen Mother Earth protest against our compounded global neglect and disregard  with disastrous weather and climate events, one after the other. So much heartache, pain, suffering and loss.

It feels to me, that the powers above, in whatever form, said "ENOUGH ! That is enough of this poor behaviour and you are now in an extended time out. Figure out your sh!t , get it together and only then you can carry on!"

So, yes, you have sucked royally 2020. I lost my Mother in law in the spring and we have not had a chance to properly celebrate her life and say goodbye.  I put my Dad, who has Alzheimers into a long term care facility that I have never seen the inside of. I haven't touched his hand or given him a hug since April. I fear when we do get to visit it will be too late and his memories of us will be lost. My daughter had surgery that had some complications and I wasn't there to hold her hand and comfort her in the hospital. My husband had a bike crash with broken bones that scared the crap out of both of us. I have close friends newly diagnosed with horrible illnesses and have to face uncertainty and treatment alone . That's nothing compared to so many. I still have a job, a warm and cozy home, a connected family unit. So many are suffering alone just trying to survive. 

BUT....slogging through all this muck there has been some shiny bright spots to hold on to. I want to fully acknowledge those and try to turn this negative spirit around because, oddly...I AM GRATEFUL.

I have learned that perspective is a brilliant thing....putting things into perspective has helped me grow as a person which in turn will only benefit me, my family , my relationships , my life. 

I got to spend time, uninterrupted with my husband , two daughters and my Mom. That is gold people! Playing Yahtzee , doing puzzles together in quarantine, with zero agenda. I realized more than ever that getting dressed up for work and shopping and new things are not what we need. Sweat pants and a messy bun all week just being present is ok and good for the soul. Wearing a mask not only to protect myself but others is the right thing to do. Its sucks but that is our new normal and its ok.  I have a new found confidence that what I do with my design work in my business is important. Not just pretty spaces but confirming  what I  have always believed and embody is HOME is the most important place . I'm so proud to help create that for others. 

This disastrous year has given us a gift of time. Time to pause, adjust , reflect and reset. Shift our priorities. From chaos and misfortune, innovation, creativity and new found passion can be born. ( can you say HELLO! to all the creative business that have pivoted and restarted this year! Bravo!) 

2020, I have to thank you for opening my eyes, my mind and my heart to a world in crisis. Time for change. Here's hoping our children and grandchildren will benefit in some way from this reset. Kindness wins . Choosing joy. It doesn't negate loss, suffering and heartbreak, but it certainly can help in these less than stellar times and we, in kindness, can find the strength to carry on and do better . We will do better. So for that I am grateful. 

Home is the most important place 

Miss you Dad!!

Fence visits 2020, Sidney BC

Kathy Jones 1930-2020

With a wide open heart here's to change in 2021 and beyond.

~ Tracey