20 Highlights of 2020

Exactly one year ago, I vowed to spend 2020 pursuing and practicing gratitude. At the time, there was so much to look forward to: a new job, a few trips to Disneyland, the wedding of one of my dear friends and all the festivities that come with it. I thought it would be a breeze to find something to be grateful for every day. 

But the universe knew better. The universe knew I needed a challenge. Shortly after January 1st, it seemed like something went wrong in big and small ways every day. I was forced to do for a year what I had once considered emotional torture. Before this year, my worst day was a day spent at home. How was I going to find gratitude for a house that seemed to be falling apart, unemployment, sick family members, isolation? Little did I know at the time, focusing on gratitude would not only be possible, it would be the thing that saved me.

It’s never all bad just like it’s never all good. Even though it seemed like the world was unraveling around me, there were moments of pure joy and contentment in each day. What will I remember most from the last 365 days? The decadent meals, slowly and lovingly prepared; the giggle of an infant and a toddler; making eye contact with the love of my life when our child does something so cute my heart wants to burst; a leisurely morning with no plans that turns into a water fight; cozy movie nights cuddling under an oversized blanket; spontaneously blasting the music and dancing around the living room; making a mess while baking on Saturday mornings; impromptu FaceTime chats with friends and family at random hours of the day; cheese and bread made from scratch that we would have normally bought at the store; my kids becoming best friends little by little.

Maybe deep down in my core, I knew this year would be different and that is why I didn't make a list of goals like I usually do. Because I now know that any resolution I had made would not have been fulfilled. The expectations were low so the chances of failure were also low.

But oh, how I failed! This year broke me down into a million raw pieces that I sometimes didn't recognize. I felt like I failed as a mother, as a wife, as a daughter, as a friend, as an employee. Too many evenings, I looked at the clock hoping it was my kids' bedtime. Too many nights, I slept alone in bed because my husband was awake to take care of our infant, and too many nights, I dozed off during our moments together trying to reconnect. Too many dinners, we ate frozen food or take-out because I was too burnt out from cooking every meal. Too many times, I forgot to answer a text or wish my friend a happy birthday because the day slipped away from me. Too many hours wasted being distracted with anxiety, doom scrolling the Internet, expecting to find a glimmer of hope. Too many hours my kids spent watching TV so I can catch up on laundry or use the toilet in peace. And at nights when my babies were dreaming and the house was quiet and I had plenty to do but nothing to do right now, came the Great Exhale. 

Breathe in deep and count to ten. Exhale. Repeat. Repeat. The pit in my stomach eases. We made it through another day, another week, another month, another ten months. We survived. 

The Highlights of Our Year

1. Landed my first dream job of the year that helped me leave a toxic work environment
2. Disneyland in February for my son's second birthday
3. Oscars party with friends and seeing my friend from Japan for the Super Bowl
4. A big birthday party in March for my husband's grandpa where our entire family was together for the first and last time this year and everyone got to meet our daughter before lockdown
5. Speech training with my son. If I hadn’t lost my job and had to stay home, I would never have had time to do speech training with him
6. Pitched and secured a website redesign and marketing client
7. Masked beach day with close friends
8. Lots of pool time over the summer at my parents' house
9. Settled our house dispute (seven months later) with incredibly generous pro-bono mediation and recouped most of our damages
10. My friend's socially distanced wedding--such a special and touching day 
11. Landed an amazing job because of a connection I had made in 2019 at a networking event
12. Justin Willman's Zoom magic show birthday dinner for one of my best friends 
13. Farm visit as a family
14. My friend's socially distanced birthday dinner and my son's excitement about Halloween
15. Potty trained my son 
16. My daughter learned to walk
17. My son gave up his pacifier
18. All things Christmas and driving to see the Christmas lights on Candy Cane Lane
19. My daughter turned one!
20. Plenty of quality time with grandparents

Bonus: everyone I know is still healthy and alive.

What were your highlights of 2020? Tell me in the comments!​