2020 | A Year in Review
It’s funny, I just re-read my 2019 review, and the sign off reads “Happy 2020”. Well, was 2020 a happy year for you?
To be honest, I am surprised at how well we set ourselves up for such a debacle. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all good for us either but, I think we fared better than most. We accomplished so much. We paid off my student loans with the money we saved (for various reasons). Cheers to being debt free!!
We re-set our routines, and we recognized what we value most as a family. And, most importantly… we are creating our vision for what lies ahead with a greater clarity than the year before…
January 2020
January was a great month. It felt like we were finally starting to make our new (to us) house feel like a home. Having just moved into our new rental in October, and getting slammed with the excitement of the holidays straight thereafter, we finally had a chance to breathe. And, it felt really good…
February
February brought more holiday celebrations, love and laughter. There’s something special about celebrating the holidays with little ones in tow. It really makes you think about the message you want them to embrace, and forces you to remember it’s true meaning. Looking back at pictures from February 2020, (when Nora was just 5, and Sadie 2) I can’t believe just how much our daily life has changed.
For the record, I think this is the month our little community may have first encountered sickness of pandemic proportions. There was a week when Nora’s Kindergarten class of 20 was down to just 7 kids! Some had strep, and others an unexplained fever but, the bottom line is that NO ONE knew what the cause was…It went on for the entire month of February. We finally thought we had turned the corner in March when….
March 2020
The world shutdown.
I am not going to lie, when I first heard that the schools and my office were shutting down, I was a bit surprised. I mean us New Yorkers are die hard! Remember when it was normal to show up to work sick so you don’t waste your personal days?!
We have a work hard, play hard, mentality so, when I heard a virus was closing us down and no one knew how long… I was stunned. Justin even left all of his personal belongings in his office because he was pretty sure we would be back to business after a long weekend. Side note: he did not have access to those belongings until late August…
Was our outlook at the onset bonkers? Maybe, but…
To be honest, we have been completely unplugged from mainstream media for quite some time so, it makes sense why we were blindsided by the shutdown.
However, the slower pace was something I was craving for our family. That is if you push away all of the anxieties and uncertainties of it all…
APRIL
Celebrating Easter, exploring fun places close to home, and easing into remote learning were all highlights. Trying to navigate everyone at home and our various “remote” schedules was somewhat difficult. And, having a toddler who requires nonstop attention didn’t make it any easier. Believe me, I am 100 percent aware that we are not alone here. I am just sharing our experience.
We tried to keep things as normal as possible, and in this regard we were actually quite lucky. Yes, our daughters were used to a scheduled day having been in day care for the majority of their lives. And, Nora had 6 months of Kindergarten but, compared to some of our friends and family, the transition to being at home full time was not as hard on our kids.
Getting out of the house each day proved to be extremely helpful. I loved our daily walks because we are so close to so many preserves and beaches (thank goodness). Remote learning wasn’t as challenging either because we all had the mentality that we would turn the corner and return to normal a lot quicker than what transpired.
MAY
I guess you could say we were starting to glam up quarantine and escape the mundane (of 2020) a bit, with princess dresses (and tea parties) in full rotation.
Our daily nature walks proved that spring had sprung, and we enjoyed witnessing new life all around us. From newborn baby swans swimming in a nearby pond, to leaves blooming on trees (I love the sights, smells and sounds of spring), and eagerly dipping our toes in the harbor, we had a positive outlook for the summer adventures that lay ahead of us.
June 2020
Ahhh, sweet summer! It was as if all the talk/daily briefings about the pandemic seemed to die down a bit with the approach of this magical season. Everyone seemed to start poking their heads out of their burrows a bit more…
June was a good month for our family. We adopted our cat Lola from Last Chance Animal Rescue, you can read more about that here. We celebrated the end of Nora’s Kindergarten school year (and remote learning), and reveled in the warmer weather with even more nature walks and BBQs.
I am so thankful that we live in an area that has a handful of preserves, and beaches nearby. Its wonderful to be surrounded by so many opportunities to get out in nature.
July
In July we welcomed our first batch of fresh, local vegetables through our CSA, and we were blown away by the quality of the harvest we received. If you can support a local, organic farmer in your area, jump on that opportunity asap!
We spent many mornings at our local beach. Thankfully, the beach is in walking distance and there are tons of trees on the shoreline so, getting to the beach early means not baking in the summer sun. A necessity for my fair + sensitive skin! Plus, our neighborhood beach is in somewhat of a secret spot so, even if it’s not implied its locals only for the most part.
August
August brought a lot of uncertainty with the new school year ahead. Traditionally, we start school here in New York after Labor Day Weekend. So, it was rather alarming when a solid plan was not in place for the year ahead. Especially given the fact that administrators and the district had since MARCH to draw up several options.
The anxieties over the uncertainties were blurred by the planning and celebration of Nora’s birthday! We had a small family gathering at our home that involved tasty barbecue, floral crowns, and presents of course! When I asked Nora what the best part of her birthday was, she said – “spending time with family!”. Gosh, I love that girl!
As far as school goes, it was the end of August when we were told that the option for our district would be 100% remote, or 100% in person instruction only. Based on the information presented in the town hall meeting for our district, my husband and I decided that remote learning would be more beneficial for the experience we wanted our daughter to have for her education.
So, we submitted our survey and told the school that we chose remote learning for the 2020 school year. Until we decided to pull the trigger on an option that had been pulling at my heart for quite some time…
September 2020
In September, we submitted our letter of intent to the district to let them know we would-be home-schooling Nora for the 2020-2021 school year (collective GASP). Although there are varying perspectives on home schooling methods, I knew two things – 1. I needed a curriculum to guide me, and 2. I wanted it to be Waldorf inspired. If you want to learn more about our home-schooling journey, start here. The decision to home school also led to the decision to start a local moms group, because my girls are social and love to be around kids their own ages. We’ve met a few families through this group and I am extremely grateful for each of them.
September is also the month we celebrate Sadie’s birthday!! This time around we had an even smaller family get together at our home. I was overwhelmed with the lack of space we had for Nora’s birthday so, I needed to dial it back a bit. I literally have 3 pictures of her special day (#momfail) but, I remember feeling more prepared this time around. Sadie is still a toddler so, she was wrapped up in her presents most of the time. If I remember correctly, she loved her Peppa Pig toys the most!
an absolute must read
October
October was unseasonably warm, and thank god for that! We spent tons of time outside visiting neighborhood playgrounds and getting together with our moms group friends. We were also slowly getting into a routine with home school but, we all know what that means…a PLOT TWIST was in the making!
Some highlights of this month –
+ We ventured out to the East End to make nature wands, which the girls are still playing with
+ We purchased a new (to us) truck! A purchase I have been toying around with since 2012, lol
+ Halloween!! You can read more about our Halloween here. Nora dressed up as a witch, and Sadie was a mermaid (Ariel wig and all). It was still magical despite the pandemic.
I am grateful that Halloween was on Saturday this year. It gave us the opportunity to make it our own, instead of get bogged down by our schedules.
November
November truly made us come to grips with the fact that it was fall here on Long Island. The weather was somewhat unpredictable. Some days called for light jackets, and others we gratefully grabbed our winter coats.
Sadie and I started visiting a local My Gym weekly for some Mommy + Me time. But to be honest, I just know she misses her friends at day care. She still regularly mentions one girl she loves. She was the first friend Sadie made here on Long Island since we moved back from California. It truly is so sad that the pandemic put an end to their friendship…
Onto happier thoughts… Justin started to bring Nora ice skating weekly too! He used to play hockey when he was younger so, he was stoked when Nora was drawn to skating. And last but not least, there is my most favorite holiday, Thanksgiving (although it looked very different this year)!
Forgive me for saying this, I just want the hysteria over the pandemic to end already (and to stop wearing a mask)! Thankfully my family and I have had a clean bill of health since the start, and I don’t take that for granted. But, I don’t like how our government has chosen to rule by fear, and very few of us have decided to stand up against it.
And, don’t even get me started on the “glorious” vaccine. I am vaccinated, and so are my kids but this one, this one I will not be lining up for….
Also, complete shift but a question that just popped into my head…did you get asked for your iID on election day?! I didn’t….
The current state of affairs is enough to make anyone nauseous….
December
And just like that, its holiday season!
Doesn’t it feel like life hits warp speed at this time of year?! But the best part is that as I look back at my pictures, I see a lot of joy for our small family J From decorating for Christmas, to experiencing our first Winter storm (and the girls first snow day) in years, to slowing down to celebrate Christmas and New Years.
Some highlights for December –
+ Slowing down and unplugging
+ getting outside and having fun, even though it was pretty d*mn cold! The girls had their first sledding experience thanks to our very first snow day
+ spending Christmas + Hannukah with family
+ Sadie getting here ears pierced on New Years Eve!!! She brave for sure J
In The End
It’s no doubt that our strength, integrity and spirits have been tested this year But, it’s also crazy how much 2020 has brought clarity to our family. It’s like we were punched in the face, shook it off and decided to pivot (black eye and all). With that said, I am ever so grateful I get to hot publish on this post in 2021.
Next week I will share a little bit more about my plans for the New Year, with the hopes that you might find it helpful in visualizing and planning your goals for the year ahead. But, until then…
I wish you and your family a bright(er), healthy and happy New Year!
