After putz passed away, I had no motivation to write. It took the whole month for me to truly grasp that he was actually gone. When we gathered all of his things; his leash, dog clothes, his bed and bowls, that was when it had truly hit me. At first I thought, I wasn't going to put in my 2020 recap or what I was looking forward too in 2021 because well, this past year was what people call it - "SHIT". But then I started looking back at my photos. All the way from the beginning of the year, and noticed all of the things I actually ended up accomplishing and doing that made me second guess what I actually felt about 2020. Which wasn't all that bad.
So why ruin a whole year of remembering it being COVID or when all of the United States went crazy! I'm not saying that it was in the past so we should just forget about it. Trust me, things truly do need to get better. But in order for many of us to keep our minds at ease and not to curl up in a ball and desperately feel the need to disappear, we should look back and focus on the good things. So here are a few things I wanted to share with you from 2020.
FEBRURARY
The month of February was pre-covid. We were starting to hear about the virus happening in China, but never thought it would reach us. So we went with our daily routine and still all went as planned for our annual snowboarding trip. My goal was to finally learn how to snowboard so that I could eventually go down the bigger hills/mountains with everyone. I learned the basics, to say the least. I also ended up with huge bruises on my ass. But it was all well worth it! I was determined to go down that bunny hill at least once without falling down, and of course with a lot of motivation from family, I did just that.
This trip, my best friend, Jey also joined us again. He was at the first one, but with everything that he had gone through in 2019, it was hard to see him actually coming along with us. It made my heart fill with happiness (I know that sounds corny - But if you understood what a year we've had, you would feel the same way). And although I know there's a lot of built up emotions we may have towards each other, things I wish I could say but probably never will, naturally end up in the back of our minds when we're with good company. And honestly, it was the most I've seen of him all of last year. I think knowing that now that I look back at 2020, I'd take that over anything.
APRIL/MAY
Spring has got to be my favourite season. When the snow starts to melt and all of the trees start to spurt out these beautiful yellow and green leaves. The weather starts to get warmer where it's bearable to hang outdoors for more than an hour and honestly, it seems like everyones winter blues start to drift away only to find more happier and healthier souls.
I was never an outdoor person. I used to spend most of my days stuck in my room. That slowly started to change when I had to focus on a healthier mind set. Being outside without any source of internet, even if that meant reading a book, helped tremendously. This was during our first lockdown which lead to seeing no active cases of covid so essentially we were able to see people outdoors as long as we kept proper distance.
I spent a lot of time biking with my siblings; we'd cruise down the busier biking routes that had so many other people outdoors as well. The community we live in seems to spend most of their time walking and biking too, so I found it really cool to physically see it for myself. My friend Cash also got a bike so he would biked to my work to "pick me up" and we'd bike to my house together which was really fun (and something we've never done before!). We also took advantage of the beautiful spring weather and hung out a lot outside; hosting bbq's, spending time around a bonfire, and taking in every bit of physical contact we could!
JULY
We decided this year we were going to renew our lease with the house we live in right now. We've been moving for 4 years straight, every year a different place. When we decided we were going to stay in the same house, it actually felt nice that I didn't have to worry about packing everything up again, and it was even better telling our friends that normally help us during that time (thanks guys) that we were planning on staying!
One of my favourite things that happened was on Canada Day. When I was able to reconnect with my friend Charlie after not speaking to each other for a year. We've had plenty of ups and downs since we've known each other, but this had been the longest for us of not actually making amends. Charlie came to our Canada Day back yard BBQ, and instantly got to talking, we apologized, we hugged, we cried, we laughed. And at the end of the day, we realized how much we missed each other. It was heartfelt... And that's all I could say about that!
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
Let the birthday festivities begin! I still can't believe how many people we know that are born in August and September. There were a few things Ronnie and I were able to experience for the first time.
Hecla Resort
Although it wasn't Mexico (which Ron and I had to cancel in March), it was a resort, and ultimately, just some good old fashion QT with my family. We did some hikes, spent a lot of time in the swimming pools, and winded down around a bonfire as we roasted marshmallows, talked about other trip goals, and had some great laughs.
Thermea Spa
For Ronnie's birthday, I wanted to spend the full day just the two of us because that night we were going to have people over to celebrate. So we took advantage of the Thermea Gift Certificates we got from the Christmas before and finally got to try out the Spa Experience!
Exploring Manitoba
One thing I felt I neglected growing up was visiting more areas of Manitoba. I always wanted to move away from Winnipeg because I felt like there was nothing beautiful about living in such a city. It was only after we moved back from Calgary where we explored the city and got to physically see what it had to offer. There are beautiful hikes an hour or two out of the city, new farmers markets in every parts of Winnipeg, local shops we never even knew existed until recently discovered by word of mouth. It's always so cool to hear what's up and coming and you can see a community grow from just that.
Being able to experience new things with Ronnie living in a city we both thought wasn't for us changed our perspectives completely. I'm honestly thankful that we get to contribute to small local shops and be a part of small businesses that are only doing great things!
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER
The month where I felt we reflected a lot. The second wave of the virus that penetrated throughout all of Canada, only to find ourselves back into our homes and away from our loved ones. We took that time and spent it with Putz, Wiz, and Enzo. Took them on more walks, focused on being around them without getting distracted by our phones, and just searching on new ways to keep us occupied. New recipes, new games, and to say the least, new adventures around our area.
I also took that time to really grasp the idea of my future. I have been in and out of stressful situations that had caused me to overthink my career choice. I spent a lot of time at home because I just never wanted to be AT work. And then I realized that doing so put a lot of extra responsibility on my staff and those that honestly depended on me on a daily basis.
I had to make a change in what I was doing for the better. I would constantly complain about my job until I had these past couple of months to sit and really reflect whether it was worth it or not. I even wrote down pros and cons on whether I should quit. But when I wrote that list, it really wasn't all that bad. Yeah, we'll all have our bad days but I think if you're not fully committed to wanting to succeed in your career, then of course those bad days will turn into bad weeks, and then just overall a bad environment. I had to change my attitude and honestly, I have to grab onto this opportunity that I have and run with it to see where it will take me. It'll take some work, but I'm glad that I had that time to reflect. I also have one hell of a team to show up and make ends meet when it matters most. All of the girls that were
hand picked for a job which eventually turned into long lasting friendships.
So there's that. My 2020. Although many of us would have sought this year differently. I think we can all agree that it was a year for all of us to reflect, learn to adapt, and to move forward with a better future. We should be able to find the good in such a weird and hectic year. We should be able to learn new things we didn't know we loved, and we should be grateful we experienced it all together. I also found my guilty pleasure.... I love spicy noodles!
Let's see what 2021 has to offer, am I right?
Oh yeah! I also posted a "Covid Christmas Montage" on Youtube. Check it out:
Until next time.
Jree.
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