Almost a year ago I posted that 2020 was almost here. I was excited then. I’m going to make a wild assumption that none of us were prepared for the hot mess that 2020 became.
The Bad
2020 was rough on us. It disrupted my work schedule for awhile and I’m still not caught back up. Nick was laid off from his job. Michael’s college graduation ceremony was postponed and then cancelled. We still can’t eat inside some of our favorite restaurants. You have to wear a mask inside every store and we’re restricted on visiting friends and family like we used to.
Here’s the good news.
The financial impact to our immediate family was minimal. None of my close friends or family have gotten sick with this horrible virus either. I’m extremely grateful for both of these things and they definitely put the other minor inconveniences into perspective. My heart aches for everyone who has lost someone to this illness or lost their jobs/businesses as a result of shut-downs.
I think we’re all ready for 2020 to end and praying that 2021 is a little kinder/gentler on us. So in the midst of all this chaos, how do you think I fared with my 2020 Resolutions? Yep, my resolutions went as well as the rest of 2020. Let’s do a quick breakdown, shall we?
2020 Recap: Finances
Definitely did not double my emergency fund, in fact I had to dip into it at the end of the year. My credit card balances did not get reduced. I did not make $5K in side income but I’m counting this as a pass because between pay raises and side income I did hit this number. What can I say? It was a rough year. I usually plan on meeting Michael’s out of pocket health expenses but I was not anticipating my surgery so we ended up meeting our family out of pocket this year and that was a pretty penny. Plus several car repairs were needed at the end of the year.
2020 Recap: Blog/Writing Goals
Also get a failing grade in this category. I still haven’t finished my blogging course. This post makes 21 posts for the year, not the 48 I was going for. The only one I achieved was submitting some of my work for publication. Haven’t heard back on these yet but Covid pushed back some of their deadlines so it’s possible I might still hear some good news.
2020 Recap: Personal/Home
I’ll give myself a C in this category. I did read 24 books, not sure if 12 were non-fiction though. 12 acts of random kindness I’m not totally sure about because I didn’t really notate these. Overall I tried to look and see where people needed help and helped when I could.
One thing I did not do well was fixing all the little stuff around my place. I think I knew the money wasn’t there this year with my surgery so I just didn’t feel motivated to even get any quotes on repairs. So I have pictures that still need to be hung, an office to put together, a pantry door still off its hinges, a towel rack that keeps falling off the wall, toilets that need tweaked….you get the idea…lol.
2020 Recap: Healthy Living
Probably a C in this category too. Let’s start with the bad…drinking water. Started off strong and then got lazy. I don’t like plain water. Plain and simple. I bought a diffuser bottle and if I fill it with fruit, I can drink water but that requires extra effort and I got lazy.
Exercising: Also started off strong but then Covid-19 shut down the gyms and by the time they reopened I was out of the habit and my doctor prefers I not work out in a gym anyway yet. I did buy a yoga mat this week and I think I’m going to look into some exercises I can do at home.
The good: I am making it a priority to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. And I haven’t started an official meditation habit but I do use an app called Relax Meditation when I go to bed and it’s very soothing. Definitely helps me wind down my busy brain so I can sleep.
Overall Recap
I refuse to be disappointed in myself. This was a bat-shit crazy year if there ever was one. My family is healthy, Michael graduated from college, and Nick is one semester away from graduating. Michael is moving to a new state for a new job next week. Nick really likes his current job. I’m buried under at my job right now after getting really behind with all the Covid-related shut downs and altered work hours earlier in the year but I still like what I’m doing.
I have lots of ideas for my writing this year. I hope things will settle down at work soon and I can devote some extra time for my writing goals this year. Meanwhile I’ll keep plugging away at improving my health and finances this year.
Basically I think we should all give ourselves a pat on the back if we survived the year. I certainly am not in a position to complain since many people I know have suffered this year from losing loved ones and jobs. Here’s to 2021 being a little easier on us all.
