That Was Then, This is Now
If you spend any time at all on social media you’ve undoubtedly seen the “then, now” pictures. The ones I see most often are the “then” energetic looking nurse with the “now” exhausted and unfairly beatdown same nurse. So many people have gone from excited to can’t take another day of this.
Think back to January 2020. Impeachment and Iowa caucuses oozing into February. Remember? Regardless, we were all planning a successful 2020 as the economy was booming.
That same month I was notified by the cruise line that our July/August 2020 trip among several Japanese islands was cancelled. The company was cancelling all Asian cruises through December 2020! Wow. When we received the notification, we had vaguely heard of Covid-19, but immediately realized that they certainly knew something we didn’t. But there was no reason to think less of 2020.
I took a quick one-week cruise to somewhere warm and sunny – my primary requirement. It was amazingly inexpensive, and I broke from the cold snow of the Cleveland winter to comfortably wear shorts. Seemed like heaven.
Then things changed for all of us. Worldwide. The stock market crashed but quickly rebounded. Irrational exuberance is alive and well, even if many people are not.
In December the Washington Post asked readers to submit a word or phrase that summarized 2020 in the mirror. Exhausting. Lost. Chaotic. Relentless. Limbo. Stifling. Dumpster fire. Those were joined by the phrase “I can’t breathe.” Sadly, that one has many meanings for 2020.
That was then, this is now. And now we look forward to 2021 with hope provided by vaccines, with humor from herd stupidity, and with intention in recognizing priorities and the world of the possible. We certainly learned a lot in 2020.
Personally, I’m looking forward to a fabulous 2021 helping many of you laugh, learn, and pick-up speed as I do the same myself.
2020 was just another brick in the wall. If Mr. Gorbachev can tear down his wall, surely, we can tear down this one. Let’s keep our feet moving forward.
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