Epic Shit. 2020 Edition.
The first draft of this annual blog post was exactly one sentence. “I survived.” And quite frankly, that seemed like a pretty complete account of the absolute shit show recorded in history as 2020. And then it happened. The thing that truly surprised me. The year was a dumpster fire, but it turns out it wasn’t a complete loss.
Here’s a recap and photographic evidence that perspective is everything.
January
Hosted a vision board workshop that I didn’t think anyone would come to. Turns out I didn’t have enough room in my house for the number who were interested and I had to do two more! Here are a few of the beautiful faces and spectacular visions boards from one of the workshops. See more info about a free virtual workshop below!
February
Made a quick stop at the station to see my hunk of a husband with sweet Lola. Little did I know it would be the ONLY visit to the station for the year. I really do cherish this photo.
Also, got real vulnerable and handed Fear an eviction notice.
March
March 13th was our last fun night out with friends before the COVID lock-down. The highlight was dinner at Chuy’s in Frisco featuring Lola May’s Christmas card! I had seriously taken for granted the privilege it is to have 10 people dining at a table together until it’s no longer an option.
April: Zoom brunch & happy hours became a thing. Enough said.
May
Our first anniversary and the first time Blaze and I left the house to let someone else do our dishes after dinner. Joke’s on us because they used disposable fine china and we had to throw it away ourselves. However, here are a few things I learned over the last year that have contributed to a very happy marriage.
A few weeks later, and a bit to my surprise, a pizza oven showed up at our house. The first attempt was pitiful but we’re getting better.
May was also the month when I made a simple social media post that had the single highest reach, impressions, profile visits and interactions!
June
A mid-year reset and another (safe) vision board workshop.
I single-handedly rewrote, redesigned and relaunched my website completely on my own. A daunting task to say the least!
Shared my journey with PTSD publicly for the first time.
Also, something I definitely did not have on my vision board but is sitting in my driveway, Engine 17 arrived. The plan is to put the pizza oven in the Engine and offer catering service for events one day. Stay tuned for Engine 17 Pizza Co. Who can say they own a fire engine?
July
My first and only opportunity to be a mother of the bride thanks to my deeply thoughtful and extraordinarily kind bonus daughter. I tried not to cry when I saw the cup but failed miserably. It was so touching and truly meant the world to me. Equally sweet was to watch my husband proudly (and also a little weepy) walk his only daughter down the aisle on her (104 degree, outdoor in mid-afternoon of a Texas summer) wedding day.
July was also when Tree #1 fell and we spent 10 hours in 107 degree heat cutting it down so we could leave the house because it had fallen on one vehicle and completely blocked the driveway for the other. Check out the photo!
August
Tree #2 takes out a power line, tiny fire and blows the AC unit so 26 days of an Inferno; our own person Hell. We moved into our guest room with a window AC unit during a Texas summer. It was so ghetto in this house - 10 fans running full tilt 24/7, sheets hung to separate (extra hot) rooms from a tiny living space we could keep kind of cool, the only cooking that happened in the house was in the microwave and I’m pretty sure even that made the house hotter! The first time the thermostat had a number that started with a seven I almost cried with joy.
September
The patriarch of the Anderson family takes his last breath just 5 days after his 85th birthday. We traveled for the first time 10 months to lay him to rest. My first eulogy and while I’ve given a lot of talks, this one was by far the most difficult of my life. How do you tell a story about the greatest storyteller of all time? You can read a portion of my eulogy in this post that, to this day, is hard for me to read. Grandpa, I weep as I write this wishing I could hear your voice and ask for your guidance and wisdom during the very difficult times. I love you and I miss you terribly.
October
Just 6 short weeks after losing Grandpa, our family suffered another very unexpected loss with the untimely passing of Blaze’s brother. He leaves a hole in the heart of all who knew and loved him. It was, and continues to be, excruciatingly difficult to watch my heartbroken husband process and move forward. To be honest, I’m not sure I’ve even allowed myself to grieve for Grandpa. Grief comes in many different forms and very different timelines and that’s okay. The blessing is the people who rally to love and support you no matter what - even if that means a plea for more Kleenex’s that show up on your doorstep 20 minutes later!
November
We finally got to take the vacay we’d rescheduled 4x after we’d vowed on our last trip that we would travel more - then waited (impatiently) for a year to be able to do-so.
We call these trips our Vision Summit. In a cabana on the beach, we dream and scheme for the upcoming year - what do we need more of in our marriage, what do we need less of. What are our financial goals and what would we like to accomplish.
To be completely transparent, we were both so unbelievably exhausted after 8 months in a COVID world, our talks were rather short - almost like it was too hard to think about where we might be a year from now. Nonetheless it was a divine intervention for our marriage and a most-appreciated opportunity to be away from the chaos for a few days. Also, drinks from a coconut are awesome!
December
Completed my Mental Health First Aid certification
Was among the very first who received the COVID vaccine. Spoiler: 21 days later and dose #2 kicked my ass so y’all be prepared and I pray it is more kind to you!
Celebrated a small but beautiful Christmas with our little family which truly was the most important part of our year.
Of course I struggled, I just didn’t quit.
2020 was hard but guess what:
It was the best year ever for my business. I made a significant investment to learn from the best in a high-level mastermind class and it’s paying off.
Blaze and I spent more time in the kitchen cooking together than we did pondering what restaurant to go to. I may have even learned to cook some stuff and that’s REALLY incredible!
I purchased a “grown-up rug” for our master bedroom after 2+ years of saying I wanted a rug.
I was more intentional about my brand and consistency through the new website and on social media.
I created my very own home office - where you’ll find my Vision Board (that certainly did not include a global pandemic) displayed proudly.
I did my first ever Instagram Live and launched a program dedicated exclusively for first responders “Home Team” (wife/gf/husband/bf/partner) to help guide and support the Homies through a challenging time.
I learned more about N95 masks than is reasonable and wondered why on earth a respiratory virus would cause every roll of toilet paper to be snatched from a grocery shelf.
I battled for my mental wellness more than ever before after a deeply painful event threatened my happiness. This is a work in progress but quite frankly, it could have completely broken me. Instead, it just strengthened me.
I laughed. I cried. I missed hugging people. I giggled and wept uncontrollably. I faced demons and I crushed goals. I will never eat birthday cake that has been blown on by someone ever again but loved celebrating even if it was virtual or a drive by. I long for joyful times with friends and family, but…
In spite of, and perhaps even because of this crazy year, I am better. So for that, thank you 2020.
