2020 Rearview Mirror

As I sit here thinking back on 2020 during the last few hours of the year, there are lots of things that come to mind.  Clearly this has been an unusual year to say the least with lots of uncertainties and huge national and world changes.  A lot of things seem to be a holding pattern pending control of COVID and a return to normalcy.  Yet when I look back I see a lot of growth and positives things coming out of this year.  Challenges have a way of forcing us to grow and change our way of thinking.  

We added Piper to our family in May.  I had been telling Jaelyn for a couple of years that we weren’t getting another dog and if/when we did, I wanted one that didn’t shed as much as Trip and was a fairly quiet low-key dog.  But in the midst of quarantine and seeing the effects of this on Jaelyn and myself, those thoughts began to change.  When I saw Piper’s picture and information on a rescue site, I scrolled past and kept coming back to her picture.  Jaelyn likes to remind me that Piper is everything that I said I didn’t want, but yet she is exactly what we needed.  Piper has spiced up our lives, drawn Jaelyn out with something positive to focus on, and brought more laughter to our home with her goofiness and naughtiness.  Jaelyn has taught Piper lots of tricks and even helped Trip to learn a few more in her “old age.”  Piper became Jaelyn’s exercise and running partner.

During the summer Jaelyn decided that she wanted to try out her dad’s kayak.  A number of people tried his kayak and couldn’t manage it do its unique style and handling.  Jaelyn jumped in it and was quickly comfortable in maneuvering around in it.  This was an emotional moment for me and it felt as if things had come full circle.  Her dad would be so proud of her and especially for her love for some of his favorite hobbies. 

We headed into mid-summer not knowing if the fall high school soccer season would happen at all due to COVID.  Jaelyn and her teammates met for practice multiple times each week working hard to prepare for a season that was not certain to happen or could be cut short.  The season was delayed, but ultimately was allowed to move forward.  This started the best season for girl’s soccer in NL school history — an undefeated season, the first sectional title, the first district championship runner-up medal, among a ton of other individual and team records broken and set by the Lady Vikings.  They were able to finish their season successfully without COVID stopping it unfinished.  

A lot of family time happened with Jaelyn and my parents - hikes locally, at the cabin, and at Rickett’s Glen State Park; trips to the cabin; cookouts; and just time together.  There have been a few health concerns for family throughout the year which added some challenges.   I have finally been able to achieve a significant reduction in my migraines with some new medications.  We faced COVID head-on with multiple aunts, uncles, and cousins testing positive and a few fighting life/death battles.  Through God’s mercy and a Christmas miracle none have lost that battle.  It has pulled the extended family closer together even though we couldn’t physically be together to support each other through it.  

Jaelyn was able to get her driver’s permit at Thanksgiving time.  This has led to lots of time together in the car just driving around to give her practice and new experiences.  We have had some really great conversations in 2020 during driving practice, playing with Piper and training her, while cooking/baking together, going for walks together, and just general time together.  Ultimately when I think about this year and what has come out of all of the mess — probably the best thing for me is a much closer relationship with Jaelyn — and that alone makes this year worth it for me.