Really what is there to say about 2020 that has not already been said and re-said. The world had a couple of months at the beginning of the year before everything came crashing down. Everyone's horror story of March to the end of the year is both different and the same. All of us (to one degree or another) suffered the isolation and fear of the pandemic. Many of us suffered more: those who were ill or died, those who valiantly took care of them; those who mourned the loss; those who got us food; those that kept things going. And then there's the reckoning of racial justice that finally erupted this summer, bringing to our consciences debts long past due. And of course the nightmare of the election, which still--this the last day of the year--isn't over.
Of course it wasn't all bad. Great scientists produced a vaccine (even if most of us have no idea how and when we will get it). Trump will be out of office in less than three weeks. Gridlock continues, who knows how politics will actually play out. Biden is a sane and decent man. (When I get glum, I think of how worse it would be if Trump had managed to stay in office. And there are, thankfully, daily pleasures: friends at the lake, new enthusiasm for cooking, I'm sure there's something else... .
So here I sit, at the very end of this long-long year with nothing much to say. Not even to myself. I stopped not only blogging but also keeping a daily record book of what I have done, read, watched, ate, etc.--something I had previously done for most of my adult life.
I have stopped marking my days period. They remain one big blur of boredom and lack of concentration. (I am suffering brain fog and even have trouble reading really complex books--though it is getting better. ) So this is for myself; to try to keep myself accountable to living in time: paying attention, fighting isolation, focusing on doing something worthwhile.
Fingers crossed for a better year ahead: one that is not only disease free but also more equitable, more generous, and more interesting (in a good way).
PS One thing I did accomplish was to finally organize and clean my kitchen; hence the picture at the top.
