Looking Back At 2020
December 31, 2020
This year comes to a close in a few short hours and a new year will begin. I am like most people, I like to look back at the year that has past. I do several things; I look for the good, the great and even the hard. Why? Because I can learn from all of it. And I certainly don’t want to go through the hard stuff for nothing. It would make it even harder to live with if I gained nothing from it to grow and learn to do better. This post may contain affiliate links.
I went through my photos month by month and picked out one or two from each month. Then I narrowed them down to just the traditional nine photos. There are things that can’t be captured in these nine photos that I DO want to record. I’m going to do my best to record things I want to look back on years from now, here. This post is as much for me as it is for anyone else.
This year comes to a close in a few short hours and a new year will begin. I am like most people, I like to look back at the year that has past. I do several things; I look for the good, the great and even the hard. Why? Because I can learn from all of it. And I certainly don’t want to go through the hard stuff for nothing. It would make it even harder to live with if I gained nothing from it to grow and learn to do better. This post may contain affiliate links.
I went through my photos month by month and picked out one or two from each month. Then I narrowed them down to just the traditional nine photos. There are things that can’t be captured in these nine photos that I DO want to record. I’m going to do my best to record things I want to look back on years from now, here. This post is as much for me as it is for anyone else.
I had such high hopes for 2020. I had done really well in 2019 paying off a LOT of my debt and intended to get my van paid off in 2020. Since 2017, I’ve used a STARTplanner to plan my year, months, weeks and days. It is my favorite planner and they make improvements every year. I create a goal poster and make a mini one IN my planner. As I was getting ready to work on my goal pages for 2021, I opened my 2020 planner to those pages and found them blank. That was an eye opener to me. I was ready to blame the shut down for lack of progress with my goals. Surely I’m not the only one thinking that way, right? Oh, I know of people who have made great progress in many things during this time. This post is to help me SEE mine. I have already started filling the pages in my 2021 with many great goals in all areas. I refuse to make that mistake again. I will be looking at those pages every morning and every night so I don’t forget what I am working so hard for and the things I need to be doing to make it happen.
2020 started out with my oldest daughter and I going to our fitness company‘s local events. We got to participate in a special live event for the new program, 10 Rounds. Part of the program was filmed in Fort Worth, Texas! While they were here, they did a live workout with a select few and we were two of those who participated. It was such a great experience and it set us on fire to make things happen. We were signed up for the next event and for our special yearly Coach Summit in July. One by one, those in-person events got canceled. Our hearts broke. The last two Summits we were unable to go because of the birth of her two boys each of those years. The year before that we were both just in a weird place and didn’t go. I can only hope and pray that we will be able to attend 2021’s Summit next summer. And stay tuned to find out all about my journey doing the brand new program that I start on Monday!!!
In March, things started to get a little weird and it just kept coming. Church stopped meeting in person. Then schools and restaurants couldn’t open. Stores that sold food or other things that people “had to have”, essentials, could open. And child care could ONLY take those children whose parents got a note saying they were essential workers. My preschool had already dropped to a drastically low number. This took it down farther. I started teaching online preschool using our fabulous curriculum, Experience Early Learning. They provided resources to use our curriculum from home and make take home bags so students could do the lessons remotely. I filmed my lessons and provided them for the students that had to stay home or chose to. I took it up a notch and put extra effort into the filming. I’m not sure if it was the fact that summer arrived shortly after that or it just wasn’t the right path, but I never enrolled any online only students.
In March, things started to get a little weird and it just kept coming. Church stopped meeting in person. Then schools and restaurants couldn’t open. Stores that sold food or other things that people “had to have”, essentials, could open. And child care could ONLY take those children whose parents got a note saying they were essential workers. My preschool had already dropped to a drastically low number. This took it down farther. I started teaching online preschool using our fabulous curriculum, Experience Early Learning. They provided resources to use our curriculum from home and make take home bags so students could do the lessons remotely. I filmed my lessons and provided them for the students that had to stay home or chose to. I took it up a notch and put extra effort into the filming. I’m not sure if it was the fact that summer arrived shortly after that or it just wasn’t the right path, but I never enrolled any online only students.
On Easter Sunday, Jenni and I went and picked up an Australian Shepherd pup. She’s a black tri and we named her Zoie. We got her because our older dog was showing signs of coming to the end of her life and we didn’t want our two year old blue merle Australian Shepherd to be alone when she went. Zoie is actually from the same breeder as Roxie. Zoie’s mom is Roxies litter mate. Pretty neat! Tanner Hill Farms Australian Shepherds care so much about their dogs and the families that they go to. It was only a month after we brought her home that our sweet Harley Quinn left us. Roxie was glad to have Zoie but it took her a bit to get over losing Harley. Now those two are always playing and in each others space. It’s hard to get a good picture because they are rarely still long enough.
The students weren’t in class every single day but they were still learning. We graduated our PreK class in June and our granddaughter was one of them. She started Kindergarten in the fall. Her brother started PreK. Our school dropped in students even further over the summer all the while hoping that we could fill our school with students for the morning classes. That didn’t happen, either. It was a confusing year in this area but we have gotten a new excitement and are pressing forward to fill our school.
The students weren’t in class every single day but they were still learning. We graduated our PreK class in June and our granddaughter was one of them. She started Kindergarten in the fall. Her brother started PreK. Our school dropped in students even further over the summer all the while hoping that we could fill our school with students for the morning classes. That didn’t happen, either. It was a confusing year in this area but we have gotten a new excitement and are pressing forward to fill our school.
Despite the fact that all four of our children are adults now, we really don’t have an “empty nest” because our two oldest grands live with us. They lived here half of 2019 and all of 2020 except three months. They keep me busy but we have gotten into a routine for the most part. They are growing up so quickly. She has lost three teeth so far since she turned 6 in November. He turned 4 the end of August. I don’t know what the future holds but they will always be welcome in our home.
Since enrollment was way, way down, I started cleaning houses for a couple of people in June. I decided to name my business and try to branch out. I was approached by some friends from church who owned a four-plex airbnb. I started cleaning for them and helped them get great reviews to increase their business. It helped get me through the last six months and pay bills. I am so thankful. Today that job came to an end, my choice. I am going to focus on my private school and get it built back up into an even bigger success than ever before. One thing that I need to remember in all that, I needed to find a solution and I did. I created a business to fill a need. Several people have pointed out what a great accomplishment that is. They are right. I also have to give God the credit because He gave me the idea and He provided the path. While I am NOT cleaning during school hours, I still clean homes in the late afternoon to early evenings. That is something I will continue to do for a season. At least until I am able to get full enrollment in my private school.
Since enrollment was way, way down, I started cleaning houses for a couple of people in June. I decided to name my business and try to branch out. I was approached by some friends from church who owned a four-plex airbnb. I started cleaning for them and helped them get great reviews to increase their business. It helped get me through the last six months and pay bills. I am so thankful. Today that job came to an end, my choice. I am going to focus on my private school and get it built back up into an even bigger success than ever before. One thing that I need to remember in all that, I needed to find a solution and I did. I created a business to fill a need. Several people have pointed out what a great accomplishment that is. They are right. I also have to give God the credit because He gave me the idea and He provided the path. While I am NOT cleaning during school hours, I still clean homes in the late afternoon to early evenings. That is something I will continue to do for a season. At least until I am able to get full enrollment in my private school.
Soon after I started cleaning homes, I made the decision to reactivate my Norwex business. I started cleaning with those products ONLY. No toxic chemical cleaning after that. It made such a difference in the amount of time it took plus, less waste and a much better clean. My oldest daughter fell in love with all of the products and she now has them all over her home. Her husband loves them, too!
While Texas has been a state that hasn’t stayed completely shut down, we do have to wear masks in certain places and “social distance”. We got REALLY good at ordering food on the app for our two fav places, Chick fil A and Whataburger. We order it and park to pick up the order. Ordering groceries to be delivered got to be a difficult thing to do since stores ran out of so many things. You couldn’t get toilet paper for awhile among other things. I am thankful we had a bit already because it did take awhile to get our next delivery of it. We got dependent on fast food because getting groceries was a challenge. Because of that, my weight went up a bit more despite the fact that I was still working out. You really can’t out train a bad diet! It was just easier. The isolation has been hard on so many and I dealt with it by eating. That is a bad habit that many people have. I am working at getting past it and moving forward with a much healthier way of dealing with things.
While Texas has been a state that hasn’t stayed completely shut down, we do have to wear masks in certain places and “social distance”. We got REALLY good at ordering food on the app for our two fav places, Chick fil A and Whataburger. We order it and park to pick up the order. Ordering groceries to be delivered got to be a difficult thing to do since stores ran out of so many things. You couldn’t get toilet paper for awhile among other things. I am thankful we had a bit already because it did take awhile to get our next delivery of it. We got dependent on fast food because getting groceries was a challenge. Because of that, my weight went up a bit more despite the fact that I was still working out. You really can’t out train a bad diet! It was just easier. The isolation has been hard on so many and I dealt with it by eating. That is a bad habit that many people have. I am working at getting past it and moving forward with a much healthier way of dealing with things.
Our youngest daughter got engaged a week after she turned 19. No wedding plans yet. I knew it was coming since they had been talking about it for a few months. The transition of her growing up has been challenging to me. It’s not the growing up part, it’s the “she doesn’t need me the same way” part. I’m finding new ways to do things. I’m learning to enjoy my time alone. I’ll admit I forget and plan things only to find out she has other plans. That drives us BOTH a bit crazy. If she wasn’t so awesome, I wouldn’t want to spend so much time with her. What I really enjoy is doing things with both my girls and that hasn’t happened much in 2020 because everything is restricted. I PLAN to have things for the three of us to do this coming year even if it isn’t something really big. Even the smallest of memories can be the biggest memories.
In October, we had a special delivery, our sixth grandchild. My daughter now has three beautiful children, two boys and a girl. God blessed her with three children in as many years. She’s ready for a break from being pregnant. The kids attend our school. We get the pleasure of seeing them almost every day. They have been on a break since their mommy and daddy have been on leave for their sister’s birth. But they start back next week.
In November, I did a 28 day juice only diet. I did that because I knew I needed to do something drastic to give my body a chance to heal from the inside out. I actually juiced all of my juices in the morning and then drank them when it was time. I also made the juices for my daughter and took them to her for those 28 days. I was able to lose almost 20 pounds in that time and feel so much better. I worked it so that my last day was the day before Thanksgiving. As it turned out, the power went out two days before Thanksgiving, in the evening after I had already had my juices that day. So my very last day of juicing, I couldn’t juice. The power stayed off until the wee hours of the morning of Thanksgiving. So technically, I guess I did a 27 day juice. I turned 55 two days after Thanksgiving. I was so happy to fit into my clothes again and I continue to get excited instead of depressed. I have some big plans for 2021 in this area, too.
Christmas was very different this year. We had little bits of Christmas on different days but together they added up to a great time. We had our school Christmas party. Our second annual Grands Christmas was the Monday before Christmas this year. We got some amazing pictures that night. Five of our six grands were there. I don’t get to see our granddaughter, Lily except in pictures. That is hard but it is the way things are at the moment. I hope someday I will get to spend time with her life the others.
On Christmas Eve my oldest stopped by with her three kids and all the kids opened one gift. We took a few pictures, watched a Christmas movie while the kids played before they went home to prepare for Christmas morning. Christmas morning at our house was my youngest daughter, my two oldest grands and their mom plus John and I. Our youngest son and his girl couldn’t be there because he got exposed to that virus from a co-worker who was exposed by his brother. Yeah, too crazy! That was so sad that we didn’t get to see them that day. They dropped off gifts and we talked while they stood in the middle of the yard while we stayed on the front porch. Christmas afternoon it was just John and I. He worked on his new lawn trailer and I got my workout in. We enjoyed an afternoon and evening with a roaring fire and watching a detective show he likes.
The day after Christmas my daughter and her family came back over for the rest of the gifts. We had a great time with gifts and just watching the kids play. Even though it wasn’t ON Christmas because they spent it at home with their three kids enjoying watching them play with all the wonderful things they got them, it was a wonderful day and memory.
This year, Christmas was not about how many gifts were given or gotten or how much money was spent. In fact, this year has been a huge lesson for me about how THINGS just don’t matter as much people and the memories you make with them. I wasn’t able to do things moneywise that I have in the past. But it was one of the best Christmas’ we’ve had in a very long time. Let me be honest. For our family, it is NEVER about the gifts but about THE GIFT of Jesus who’s birth we celebrate. But we still enjoy giving each other things that bring joy to them.
While there were lots of hard stuff in 2020, I am choosing to see as many of the good things as I possibly can. I gained weight, I lost it plus a bit more before the year ended. We haven’t been able to go TO church yet, even though they are doing in person now we still watch at home online still until the kids have a class they can go to, I have enjoyed watching my adult class on Zoom when I wasn’t cleaning on Sunday’s. I’m glad I won’t be cleaning on Sunday’s any longer. While I feel we have lost so much this year, I also feel like we all learned new ways to connect with each other. I have been so blessed by our church family this whole time. My perspective of life has shifted. I realize even more than I ever did how precious our days are and how important it is to make those memories no matter how small they may seem.
I will be working on a New Year’s post next so that I can have another place to hold myself accountable for the goals I set for myself. I am most excited about this year’s goals because I really thought things out and put down things I am always wishing I did but never got around to it. They say your goals are big enough if they don’t scare you a bit. Well, I’m good and scared so I suppose they are big enough! You’ll just have to wait for that post to see some of the things I am talking about.
Until then…Happy New Year! May 2021 be a year of blessings for you and may you always find joy in the small things as well as the large.
On Christmas Eve my oldest stopped by with her three kids and all the kids opened one gift. We took a few pictures, watched a Christmas movie while the kids played before they went home to prepare for Christmas morning. Christmas morning at our house was my youngest daughter, my two oldest grands and their mom plus John and I. Our youngest son and his girl couldn’t be there because he got exposed to that virus from a co-worker who was exposed by his brother. Yeah, too crazy! That was so sad that we didn’t get to see them that day. They dropped off gifts and we talked while they stood in the middle of the yard while we stayed on the front porch. Christmas afternoon it was just John and I. He worked on his new lawn trailer and I got my workout in. We enjoyed an afternoon and evening with a roaring fire and watching a detective show he likes.
The day after Christmas my daughter and her family came back over for the rest of the gifts. We had a great time with gifts and just watching the kids play. Even though it wasn’t ON Christmas because they spent it at home with their three kids enjoying watching them play with all the wonderful things they got them, it was a wonderful day and memory.
This year, Christmas was not about how many gifts were given or gotten or how much money was spent. In fact, this year has been a huge lesson for me about how THINGS just don’t matter as much people and the memories you make with them. I wasn’t able to do things moneywise that I have in the past. But it was one of the best Christmas’ we’ve had in a very long time. Let me be honest. For our family, it is NEVER about the gifts but about THE GIFT of Jesus who’s birth we celebrate. But we still enjoy giving each other things that bring joy to them.
While there were lots of hard stuff in 2020, I am choosing to see as many of the good things as I possibly can. I gained weight, I lost it plus a bit more before the year ended. We haven’t been able to go TO church yet, even though they are doing in person now we still watch at home online still until the kids have a class they can go to, I have enjoyed watching my adult class on Zoom when I wasn’t cleaning on Sunday’s. I’m glad I won’t be cleaning on Sunday’s any longer. While I feel we have lost so much this year, I also feel like we all learned new ways to connect with each other. I have been so blessed by our church family this whole time. My perspective of life has shifted. I realize even more than I ever did how precious our days are and how important it is to make those memories no matter how small they may seem.
I will be working on a New Year’s post next so that I can have another place to hold myself accountable for the goals I set for myself. I am most excited about this year’s goals because I really thought things out and put down things I am always wishing I did but never got around to it. They say your goals are big enough if they don’t scare you a bit. Well, I’m good and scared so I suppose they are big enough! You’ll just have to wait for that post to see some of the things I am talking about.
Until then…Happy New Year! May 2021 be a year of blessings for you and may you always find joy in the small things as well as the large.