January was an exciting month, as we planned and enjoyed a trip to Israel with church friends! You saw the photos and heard the stories, and I promise I will not pull them out again right now...lol!
February was recovering from the flu, and wondering about this new virus.
March was watching the world shut down, and wondering what it would mean over the next few weeks, as well as starting to record video sermons. Schools closed before the end of the month, and so did many other things. Stay Home Ohio was a thing.
April was figuring out how to "do church" when the novel Coronavirus decided to celebrate Easter with us. This is when we started to see that it would be more than a few weeks of disruption. Baseball did not start on time, as mass gatherings were banned.
May, at the church where I work, was spent bringing Hope Crosses to our community...trying to provide some light in the darkness of the unknown. And we learned to Zoom.
June found us waiting again, hopeful that the heat of summer would destroy the virus, so our lives could go back to "normal," but we were quite disappointed. Still, I virtually attended a knitting retreat via Zoom...and it was super fun!
July brought a mask mandate to Ohio, and normal became new once again. We Zoomed meetings at work, Bible studies and knitting groups...and there were some small meetings outdoors. No hugs, but it was good to be face-to-face again.
August had us watching and wondering whether public and private schools and colleges would open in the fall. Some did, many did not. Professional sports had resumed, to a limited degree, and we were now wondering if school sports would be possible.
September was Back-to-School, but not "as usual." Some schools met online only, some in-person, some as a hybrid of the two. I honed my video-editing skills, and learned a lot of new technology. Oh, and a presidential election was on the horizon. What will that look like? Learning to Live Stream was the next big thing!
October brought Pop Pop and me a new grandson, and we celebrated life! We also wondered what tricks-and-treats would look like. Our main goal was staying healthy so we could keep seeing our family, we had our "bubble" figured out.
November's election, as you might imagine, was heated and weird. Mailed in ballots. Early voting. Polling places open on election day, and a spike in the virus about two weeks later. Then Thanksgiving.
December kept the virus numbers high, as people kept getting together for holidays. (No judgement here...not seeing the ones we love is so very difficult!) Then Christmas and New Years...I expect to see another spike in a week or two. We will deal with that when it comes.
Through it all, I've lost several dear-to-me friends and family members. People got married. Weddings and funerals and church and school were live streamed, and everything is a little more strange in 2020. Grieving and celebrating via Zoom, over the phone, in texts...so very strange. But we still connect. And I still knit.
I've knit sweaters, hats, gloves, toys, ornaments, socks...so there's my normal. Just keep swimming...err, knitting...is keeping me going. When I get tired, I try to rest. When I don't know, I Google. When I think I can't, I ask for help. When I learn a new thing, I celebrate.
While I know that 2021 will not bring an instant fix to any of it, I do look forward to another fresh start. I plan to cast on something new tomorrow, something hopeful and fun, and I plan to Knit in Good Health. I hope you will join me!
In the new year, I wish you this:
May all your yarn be untangled.
May your needles and stitch markers always be close at hand.
May you find just the right pattern and supplies, at the same time, most of the time this year.
Happy New Year, friends!
