Just Checking In

It’s the middle of a new year and we are halfway done. I know many of us didn’t think we would make it as far as we have, but guess what, here we are! The uncertainty of the 2020 Covid pandemic brought about a lot of questions. Will everything ever be back to normal? Am I going to be able to work again and provide for my family? Will there be another stimulus check to help us through these difficult times? Is this going to be the new norm for our children to get their education through virtual learning? So many questions were asked and fewer answered. Well, fast forward to 2021 and look what has been accomplished so far. Jobs started opening back up for employees to come back onsite, restaurants are functioning at almost 100% capacity, masks are optional to wear now, vaccines have been created and administered (for the ones who choose to take it or are forced to), people are able to watch movies at the theater now instead of through Netflix, kids now have the option to go back to school or do virtual learning and the list goes on.

I had the opportunity to look around and realize how truly blessed I am. No job loss, no eviction, no sickness, and no loss of anything due to Covid! I actually gained a few things during that time: more money in my pockets (stimulus), savings on after school care, more quality time with my husband and children, a deeper relationship with God, self reflection, a promotion, and I could go on and on. This is not an opportunity to brag, but to show you that good things definitely can come out of a bad situation! I also witnessed people all around that have had good things come out of this bad situation as well. It gave me a greater appreciation for life and others. Sometimes things happen unexpectedly, but how we react and handle the situation can make all of the difference in the world. I can say, I was afraid at first, but my fears slowly started peeling away once I began to realize that I am not in control. I quickly found out that I didn’t call the shots and I had to accept that reality! My life seemed to get easier once I understood that. So I dare ask you this question. How are you? What are some positive things that came out of this situation for you? Do you see any changes from what we were faced against last year? What beauty was birthed out of this ugliness?

Farewell 2020 by Alicia S. Azahar

Dear 2020,
We heard that you were leaving soon so we thought we’d give you  a proper farewell,
This past year has been a rollercoaster for us,  but for some it was pure hell,
You just couldn’t leave quietly, could you? You had to go and cause a big scene,
As if Covid wasn’t enough for us, you went and pulled other schemes,
Political wars, violence, and racial tension to name a few,
Unemployment and depression, some people lost their homes too,
But what do you even care? You’re about to leave in several weeks,
Do us a favor, never come back and whatever you take it’s yours to keep,
We never thought we’d be so excited to see this year pass on by,
But believe us when we tell you, when you leave we will not cry,
We will not shed a single tear for you because we did enough of that already,
On a level of one to ten you’re one thousand times more petty,
You just sat back, watched and laughed as all hell broke loose,
You’d think twice before laughing if you had to walk a day in our shoes,
But it’s okay, we don’t hate you, you gave us a reason to keep on living,
When we look back over this year, we had a whole lot of “thanks given”,
You see, you made us a lot stronger than we ever  thought that we could be,
Even though we were quarantined it made us spend more time with our families,
You helped us save a lot of money, by keeping our children out of school,
And did we mention we saved on gas, with all of these mandatory “shut down” rules,
The holidays weren’t the same, but it made us love our families more,
It made us appreciate the times we took for granted once before,
Although you stole a lot from us, you gave us back more than you know,
We were the real stars of 2020, you just put on the show,
You thought that you could break us, but we’re more grateful in the end,
So farewell 2020, we hope we never see you again!