RESET 2021

Well. It has been quite a hot minute since I last blogged. As a matter of fact, the last entry was Grace's birth story from May 2019 and that chunky little bundle of blessing is now almost 20 months old and fiercely in the middle of toddlerhood. 

It goes without saying that 2020 has been a challenging year for anyone. For some, it has been more than that. 

In March, Gabe and I both had to learn how to do virtual school without warning. I had to learn to teach and he had to learn...to learn. It was an interesting time for sure. 

In April, my mother in law had what was supposed to be a fairly routine surgery which came with some complications and landed her in ICU for a bit. When she came home, my husband went over there daily for most of the day to help care for her while I tried to be virtual teacher and stay at home mom making sure my 9 year old had what he needed for his virtual school and my just under one year old daughter didn't hurt herself. It was an interesting and exhausting week for both of us. 

In May, Grace turned one. We had a "Zoom party" and she did NOT smash her cake. It was weird. I'm thinking we need a redo when she turns 2. Knowing her, she will not disappoint. 

On May 17th, my husband's sister passed away from colon cancer. This was an exceptionally difficult time for him and his brothers. There was some reconciliation that occured between a brother and father though right before she passed as if that's what she was holding onto. Once her family seemed complete, she finally let go. We celebrated her life via Zoom with close family members here at the house and several family and friends joining from different states. While it was hard not to be able to gather all together, we are grateful for modern technology that allowed us to do at least that. 

In June we visited my grandmother in Alabama and enjoyed some family adventures while we were there. It was nice to get away for a bit and just enjoy the outdoors and God's amazing creation. 

In July, I unexpectedly accepted a teaching job much closer to home and at the school of my dreams. My partner is someone I worked with previously and we make a great 8th grade ELA team. We are a one to one iPad school which has made teaching brick and mortar and virtual learners simultaneously 10 times easier. Not EASY by any means...just easiER.

In August, cue the car trouble. My husband's Pilot decided it wanted an overhaul and he spent weeks replacing different parts and then finally completing a whole motor replacement himself. Around the same time his car quit, his father went into the hospital. He never came home. He is now at a nursing facility and suffice it to say that dealing with all that has taken its toll on my sweet other half mentally and emotionally. Once he got his car up and running, my car decided to go. It has been sitting in the driveway for over a month now. I'd be content with a horse and buggy at this point. 

 

While Covid has been on the rise throughout the country over the last several months, it has really hit close to home now. Several friends I know have had it and while most recovered or are recovering with no issue, one sweet man we knew and loved did not. He went home to the Lord on December 13th. Listen, I'm going to be real for a minute: the low death rate does not matter when you lose someone you love to this awful virus. Yes, most people recover. But some do not and if there was even a 10% chance that wearing a mask might help prevent that, why would you not? Okay, I'm done. 

This year has definitely had its share of blessings but also its grand share of heartache and I, along with probably most people, am not sad to see it go. One of the things we do as a couple/family is to have a word of the year. Sometimes we just do one word and sometimes we do a family word and I do my own personal word. 

One of the words that kept coming to mind for both of us was REST. As I thought and prayed about it, another word came to my mind as well...RESET. This is a word with a multi-faceted meaning for me. I think the human race could use a RESET in 2021 but for me personally, this is what it means:

Rest in Who God is and who He says I am

Explore my passions 

Set my mind on the here and now

Experience new things

Take time for what is most important

I'm not going to sit here and share my list of goals for 2021. I've done that before and failed miserably. I want to be realistic with myself. I want a RESET spiritually, physically, and emotionally, whatever that may look like. I could make a list of all my plans of how I'm going to make this year my year like I've done before...but truth be told, with a year like 2020 has been, plans don't really matter. I simply want to work on being the best version of myself that I can be...for myself, for my family, for my students. 

So, sort of like shutting down a computer when it's being wonky or hard resetting an iPad when it's not working right, that's what I plan to do with myself. As I close out the "windows" and "browsers" of 2020 and restart with 2021, I pray that I can RESET my heart and mind and focus on the God of my Salvation and His steadfast love. 

Here's to 2021 - let's focus on the good!

Image from Zazzle