Inspired by the new year resolution and happy new year topics…What DID go right for you or are you proud of achieving in 2020?
I’ll start with managing to work throughout lockdown being a key worker. It was very busy and like working 6 Christmas weeks in retail, so i can only imagine what it was like for our NHS heroes. We managed through sheer luck to be able to go on the 3 UK holidays we had booked. The V.E. day socially distanced street party that brought our community together.
Managed to get the bathroom re-fitted from scratch and hall/landing decorated in between lockdowns.
Making some amazing friends here!
My proudest moment was on my birthday in October, i had a lot more money off my mom than I usually get. When i told her it was far too much, she said it was for being kind, which made me proud and bought tears to my eyes. I just told her I was following her example.
So what went well for you in 2020? What made your glass half full?
I can’t remember loads specifically but i did feed a lemur and a jaguar (we were actually really close to both, in the enclosure with the lemurs and less than 1m away from the jaguars holding tongs and some meat chunks)
Many things cheered me up in 2020, but a good memory was sun-kissed lockdown days sitting in my industrial courtyard social distanced, socially interacting with neighbours who previously had just been on ‘hello, how are you?’ terms. A particular highlight was double ordering take away beer one balmy afternoon in July, sharing, chatting and playing party games 'til late (still socially distanced of course)
The chance to live back in Sheffield for six months and through furlough, have time to revisit places I grew up. The chance to live in a converted crucible steel foundry - the only one like it in the world, complete with dungeon
It sounds like you have done a sterling job both at work and at home @WillC. Your mum is quite right to be proud of you.
We have been lucky in many respects. No one has got ill, despite several scares and periods of isolation, my OH can work from home - I’m especially proud of him as he works for the NHS in mental health.
Two of us were shielded to start with, and we are still being extra careful - and will continue that until a comprehensive vaccine programme rolls out. My anxiety levels are through the roof.
But, home schooling was ok first time around. We supplemented whatever school set with a film a day, and documentaries and music - my older two have both learned musical instruments in this time. I’ve got closer to them through music and film. As a household with 2 teens and a younger one with special needs we have all got along better than fine - we listen to each other and make room for each other. We have all developed a shared interest in Indian Takeaways
I can’t replicate my youngest child’s excellent special school, but he did learn the alphabet during lockdown and since then his school have been teaching him to read a few words through sight recognition - pretty good for a non-verbal child with severe learning difficulties. He’s using his voice more as a result.
At the beginning of March 2020 I took on a role as voluntary pastoral lead for a community of over 100 people. I thought it would be easy but then the shit hit the fan and I was instantly thrown into setting up support networks, phone trees, shopping volunteers etc etc. It has been very busy but it has kept me sane and I have made a lot of new friends - who I can only see via Zoom at the moment, but maybe one day I can meet them for a cuppa, as they are local.
I like my own company, but I guess my ‘half full’ comment is to enjoy that and also to enjoy what others are doing around me - which includes staying safe. And also to remember that while I might find phonecalls etc uncomfortable to make, an hour talking to a good friend is time well spent.
Thank you! My OH like you also has arthritis (rheumatoid) and was furloughed/shielding which depressed her a great deal, i did my best to support her and raise her spirits, i joined her on her quest to walk 10,000 steps a day for a month to raise money for the Versus Arthritis charity which she successfully completed. I really should have put that in my original post too!
I now have a garden with flower beds and I grew some veg over the summer
I have realised that I actually have a good, strong relationship with my OH - we have actually enjoyed being stuck together alll the time.
I never used to be able to stay in at home (due to anxiety) and always had to be out and busy, now I have learnt that I can cope at home. Last year I would have said that it was impossible for me to stay at home for a whole day let alone a week! Now I am fine with it and actually enjoy it mostly.
Getting to know the neighbours and the local pizza takeaway guys
Maybe! I’m sure if we looked hard enough we could all find something! Today i thought of another, this day last year i saw a dermatologist about “something” on the back of my leg, at the end of January i had a minor op to remove it, going in wide and deep and requiring 10 stitches, they told me i’d get results in 2 weeks, but due to Covid, i got the results in July. Fortunately it was a benign cancer caused by tissue trauma ( I had hurt my leg slipping on ice 18 months previously) So for 6 months i was in limbo, but i am thankful it was sorted before they stopped non-essential operations.
Have to agree, the first lockdown was God send for OH and me with our most recent addition to the family. She was born premature, so spent 4 months in hospital. Lockdown helped us claim back that time with her, and our son who was moved around relations house while we stayed at the hospital.
For myself, 2020 helped me get back in shape. New job brought my in to an office and weight started going up. Now I’m back to what I was, and more toned.
Perhaps an obvious one, but the forced working from home proved that we can work successfully from home and don’t “need” to be in an office.
So many activities have been done over Zoom/Teams…etc that were shunned as a concept. So many meetings and training sessions that required travel and/or venues to find and pay.
Main highlight for me was getting time back from commuting that means I’ve spent more time with family and re-started a hobby I’d had to give up a couple of years ago.
New job
Couple of new tattoos
Daughter was accepted into the school of our choice
First ever hands free orgasm during sex
Family and friends made it though the year alive.
I feel lucky I’ve not had to deal with being put on furlough since I work in the NHS. Must be so hard being in a business where you have to stop work.
One positive of 2020 for me is that I’ve been getting back into playing guitar after a few years hiatus. The weeks of lockdown have meant I’ve had time to be at home and finally get motivation to practice. I’ve made more progress these last few months than ever and finally enjoying it again and meeting my goals. I even treated myself to a new guitar
What a brilliant post, particularly in that you are a key worker! A challenging year for us but we still managed to move house, have a baby and flourish our relationship in multiple lockdowns. Feeling very blessed and looking forward to what 2021 offers.
On a wider note, thanks to all of you key workers for keeping us all on track since March.
Thank you! I was just trying to make people realise that the glass doesn’t HAVE to be half empty, and we should count our blessings no matter how small!
Know there’s a lot of doom and gloom and rightly so. But we had all this extra time with our 2 year old so who turned 3 in September. Watching him grow last year was a privilege. His speech has come on leaps and bounds. The amount of older guys I speak to who wish they’d spent more time with their kids when they were young. And here we were forced to.
about 2020
