A Time For Peace

 

Yes, we did ponder to not bother with a year-end wrap-up, but an extraordinary year requires at least a few words of reflection.

What a wild ride 2020 has been, something akin to Mr Toad's Wild Ride in Disneyland, which has also been closed since what, March? At some point, we were all smacked by a train and felt like sentenced to hell. Well, that's how the ride goes. It is well and good that we should pause a little and maybe contemplate the good and bad the year has brought. We're safe at home and reflecting on all the changes that we've all be forced to endure. It hasn't been easy and for many it's been downright impossible. There's a bit of privilege that we have to acknowledge that allows us some of the comforts of home staying. Master can work from home, the children can learn from home, while we can't exclusively order groceries to be delivered we have the money to pay for them, unlike so many this season. So many are struggling under the yoke of this pandemic and for many in this country its a truly losing battle. Many trying and struggling to do the right thing only to have those opportunities slammed shut. 

We have witnessed people claiming this pandemic and illness it causes isn't a big deal, but when does anyone ever recall seeing refrigerator trucks being brought to hospital parking lots to house the dead until they can be buried? We volley back and forth between trying to do what's right, chaffing under the restorations and hoping for a better tomorrow. 

Quite naturally, in the middle of this writing the laptop being used decided it needed recharging, so mouse paused writing and hoped she'd be able to mentally pick up the threads of what she wanted to express. It was then it occurred to her the short pause was a benefit, since it gave offered a bit of time to collect the thoughts. This year has been odd for us all, as mentioned Mr Toad's Wild Ride (for those unfamiliar with the ride, here's a link). 

There have been moments, we played games with family miles from us via the internet, we cooked over Zoom, even shipped food overnight, with a video watch party invite. In some ways, almost oddly, we're more connected to family and friends because Master suggested we're putting in more effort into creative get together ideas. Ways we can be together, without physically being together. in that respect the pandemic has caused us to slow down and reevaluate what is truly important in our lives. The things we do miss, like movie theaters or taking our children to see the Nut Cracker Ballet, restaurants, walking around downtown and popping into a restaurant, Or the chaos of a busy morning, running behind and having to get the kids off to school. 

One thought that is somewhat perplexing, are we addicted to being busy? If anything this time has shown us that we probably are. We've also learned, oddly, that all that running around we used to do we spent a lot more money than we are now. While we did eat most meals at home, there were plenty of meals or even breakfasts out with the family, add to that cost, movie tickets and we'd drop a couple hundred bucks on a day of fun easily. If Master decides to take mouse out later that evening, or we host a fancy dinner at our home, and the price goes up. There's a rhythm of chaos, excitement, birthdays and other social gatherings that have all just stopped because of the virus. We've been forced, like many, to reevaluate what's truly important to us. 

This year has also brought to the surface and forced us bear witness to civil unrest, a real tempest brewing, as opposed to the fake outrage one finds frequently on social media, where privileged individuals complain endlessly about minutia when there are real problems others are facing, like discrimination and abject racism. Even Master has noticed an increase in the lack of tolerance and that disturbs Him. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor forced many to deal with inequalities, and we've also seen the swastikas spray-painted on Jewish cemeteries. Shouldn't we be beyond this? While we were satisfied with the election result in our country this past November, many were not. We have decided that we can't worry about that. We have to worry more locally, what our state representatives and county people are doing, to be better informed at our local level. To do better all around and help bring about positive change (at least we hope). 

Many people filled their time with home improvements, we weren't that ambitious, but did manage to do a few things around here. Birthdays were delivered by Amazon, and while it bothers us, there wasn't a lot we could do and in the drone of each day running into the next, Master forgot mouse's birthday all together. Yes, He made up for that. Just another sign that 2020 isn't a normal year. It's true many times we just wished we could fast forward through this, the worry would settle, what if we fast forwarded too far and discovered we're not here. That's a morose thought, isn't it? Going a bit beyond the middle age years makes you think that way. 

Looking ahead there is some light in the tunnel of darkness, a vaccine, which we are all grateful for, as that can certainly help end this madness or at least diminish much of fear surrounding it. 

It does lead us to an equally interesting question. What do we want 2021 to look like? 

Will we continue to stay home more or slowly let this odd time slip into the past and resume our old ways of doing everything? 

What lessons did we learn from this and do we want to carry those lessons into our future? 

As mouse looks out the large picture window and sees the cherry holiday lights on our neighbor's homes juxtaposed with the lifeless landscape, we can't help but to pause, reflect and perhaps, just let it all go. 

Master who is all about keywords, after discussion said we might choose three or four words to reflect what we want most for 2020, as something to focus on. Randomly we opened a dictionary and pointed to words on whatever page, it took several tries to get words that were appropriate (the word, Word was dismissed and others like that) The final words were: Purpose, Hope, Service, Connection. 

Maybe, going forward we'll incorporate those words into thoughtful posts in 2021.