Skip to main content

2020 THE NOT-SO-LOST YEAR

I think of 2020 as a missing year, a lost year. My friends and I often joke that 2020 just doesn't count. I have internalized that message so much that even my math is affected; between January 2016 and January 2021 there are only four years. But if I am honest with myself 2020 was not lost, it freed me and the people I work for from unnecessary restraints, it gave me the space to prioritize and make a habit of prioritizing my health, and the time to really think about what I actually do and don't need to be happy. 

I. HOBBIES:

A. I started 2020 with the goal of picking up pottery. I took courses at my alma matter which was probably the best decision ever, not only did I learn something new, but being so far removed from home meant that there was zero chance of running into work. It was also nice to connect with people on a level other than what I could do for them. Unfortunately, classes had to end, but to be bad at
something and for that to be normal and expected was incredibly liberating. 
 


B. Once the pandemic kicked-in full force, I started to go through all of my lipsticks. I would wear one each day in the hopes that the pandemic would end before my lipstick supply did. As it turned out the pandemic outlasted the lipstick supply, but the lipstick supply was huge-I had over 300 lipsticks which led me to explore why I had so many. I realized that over the years I had taken on so many volunteer opportunities and so many tasks, that my ability to paint and play with colors was  very restricted, by  buying lipstick and playing with them for seconds at a time each day I found a way to enable a lifestyle that didn't give me much time to have hobbies. I started to have hobbies again.
    


II. HEALTH:

 A. With the removal of travel time and time to get dressed for a particular job each day, I suddenly had time for daily walks, and since the walks didn't have to be rushed, I could stop to appreciate changes in  nature on a minute and daily basis. My daily walks also gave structure to my day, a structure that was set by the needs of my body and mind and not the needs of someone who was paying me for my time. 

B. With many restaurants shut down initially, I was forced to cook a lot of my meals. That made me realize that what I thought I had been paying for all these years (convenience) wasn't really convenient. I only realized that when places started to open up and I could see that it took me a lot more time to drive for my meals than it did to prepare them. I also realized that once separated from the eating establishments, meals didn't really taste that great and what I was really enjoying was ambiance and company, not the meal. That has led me to eat more home cooked meals which help me better manage my actual intake of fats, sugars, proteins and carbs.  

III. WORK
A. Some of the best changes happened as a result of changes in the work environment. No longer did I have to waste a lot of time proving to people that I did what I said I was going to do, everyone was so overwhelmed, that few people had time to micro-manage. I finally hit my happy place where the only instruction was to get things done by a certain date and I was good. Even the feds stopped asking to take fingerprints over and over and over.  

B. I also saved over 12 hours a week in commuting time. That time was spent finally painting my house, exercising, cooking, taking care of myself and even breastfeeding without my employer or  business partners having a say in my breastfeeding schedule as they would have otherwise. 

III. FINANCES
A. Without the need of spending as much on professional women's clothes and without the need to order out for every lunch-work meeting. I actually saved a lot more than I lost in income, helping me save for home repairs-now getting craftspeople to actually show up to work in Central, PA, that's a challenge even a pandemic can't fix. 

B. I learned to monetize my online presence. Yes, if you were to click on the Real Her hyperlink and    make a purchase, I would receive a commission. I haven't use this skill yet, but learning the many ways one can monetize their online presence might be valuable later on. (BTW-I also discovered Real Her during the pandemic, their colors and quality are awesome, but the packaging isn't my favorite)

IV. FAMILY AND FRIENDS
 A. With everyone being forced by their employers to video-conference, I was able to spend a lot  more time with friends and family virtually, and with everyone spending less time commuting, we had more time to call each other, virtually eat meals together. Video conferencing was no longer annoying to them. 

B. Shifting over to a virtual work environment meant that I was able to become pregnant and manage my pregnancy without the interference of employers, clients or contractors. I could not have been able to be pregnant in the "normal" work context where things like exercise, eating healthy, flexibility are necessary for a healthy pregnancy and baby, but can become a challenge in the workplace where employers need to micromanage their staff. 

So while I refer to 2020 as a lost year, I am not sure that is the right word. It is a year I had to do without the things I tend to lean on, and in some ways, it made me realize that I had grown too comfortable with the toxic elements in my life; as much as I hated them, they were there because I didn't know what life looked like without them and now that I know, I doubt my life will ever be the same again. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

INSPIRATION

This is one of my favorite paintings because it is so unexpected. It is not of my typical style or executed the way I would've have liked to see it executed. Instead, I love this picture because it reminds me that you never know what can be inspired by what. I did this painting after a trip to Vermont during the fall. I assumed I would have been inspired to paint organic images and shapes, but instead, I was inspired to paint primary colors in squares and triangles.

WHAT PRESENCE OF "BIRTHERS" TELLS US ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO TRULY BELONG IN AMERICA

It appears Trump has been satisfied with the long form of President Barak Obama's birth certificate. I guess the various affirmations and certifications from Hawaii's officers that he was in fact born in Hawaii were not enough. Trump may be satisfied, but the rest of the birthers are not. Frankly, they never will be. Fundamentally, they are not so much concerned with whether he was born or not born in the U.S. Their concern is whether he is a "Citizen" in the truest and purest meaning of the word. Whether he is a human being endowed with rational thought and entitled to the same rights as any other human being who is endowed with rational thought as they imagine themselves to be. In other words, is he just as important to society as they are? Is he as human as they are? They would like the answer to be no. What I always find fascinating about the birthers' position is that they have never challenged President Obama's mother's citizenship. They have onl...

I CAN'T PASS JUDGMENT ANYMORE

I know all of my friends are loving the ease and convenience of carrying books around on a Kindle, or whatever the gadget of the day is, but this move to electronic reading is really affecting my ability to judge others, yes, you heard me right-judging others is now difficult. It used to be that I could sit on the train and just by watching book covers, and their respective readers, I would get an idea of what books I might like. Now, everyone has a kindle and I can't really derive reading recommendations without appearing to be a stalker. But worse than that, new friendships are severely affected. I used to be able to walk into someone's house and look at their bookcase and know whether I should run the other way-now, the non-visibility of books makes identifying incompatibility so much more difficult. For example, if someone were to walk into my house, this is what they might see:   You would be correct in making quite a few assumptions about me based on this ...