I've started through the Annie & Eddie Keep Talking podcast again, which brings back all kinds of early pandemic memories for me -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. lol We all experienced varying degrees of anxiety, loss, and pain that year... but there were some wonderful moments that are crystalized in my memory because of the way that year stands out. Outside of Jesus Himself, here are the Top 10 things that added joy and value to my life through the pivotal year of 2020:
9. The hope of an OSU football crowd -- As social distancing became the norm and the summer Olympics and March Madness games and other sporting events and vacations were cancelled left and right, I really missed the joy of being in the midst of a crowd - I'd never realized how important it was to me until it felt threatened. Somewhere in there, I latched onto the hope of looking forward to being a part of the happy, cheering OSU football crowd again someday. And this Halloween 2020 game is one of my favorite Stillwater memories - the roar of the crowd meant more to me that day than ever before!! Even for non sports-fans, there's a lot to be said for the collective joy of being part of a full stadium, connecting with family and random strangers and laughing at the crazy fans, etc. For reasons I can't fully put into words, this fun Saturday was a big marker/milestone for me in believing that good, vibrant, abundant life would make a wonderful return -- thank God!!
8. Introversion -- For reals - my love of audiobooks, TV and movies, coloring, painting, cooking, online classes, podcasts, reading, blogging, scrapbooking, sleeping in, photography, etc. all served me very well that year! Spring 2020 was really the introverts' time to shine. lol
7. The Great Outdoors -- Gardening fun at Steve and Sarah's (I was more of a documentarian than gardener, but so happy to be among friends) + Wilson pool parties + swim days with the niece and nephews! It really was a kindness from God that the very worst part of the contagion and fear of the unknown fell during spring and summer where we had nice weather to enjoy together outside!
6. Hard Talks with Trusted Friends -- This pic = one of many days that involved a difficult conversation with these two (mostly those talks were one on one, but that day we were all three together). I cried on the phone with both of them at some point, cried through at least two Napoli's lunches, a Braum's visit, and one memorable hangout at Sarah's house. I was holding on with both hands to a friend who did not value me well, and these two would not allow me to ignore the red flags. Where my former friend recoiled and pulled back at the very hint of a potentially difficult conversation, these two fun-loving Enneagram 7s intentionally stepped into those emotionally-draining moments for my sake because they cared and valued me enough to do so... I could feel a tangible difference in the way my body, soul, and spirit responded to friendships where it was safe vs. unsafe to fully be myself, and it gradually helped me to see things more clearly. (The same holds true for difficult political conversations in 2020 with JEM and Chet Lee - gradually growing in my ability to engage in healthy conversations + speak my deeply-held beliefs + believe my friends and family are capable of loving/respecting me when we don't align there). Gracious, the root of rejection runs very deep for me, but God is consistently using good relationships to bring healing there!!
5. Some Good News + Pandemic Memes -- We all needed a break from the loss, the grief, the callousness, and the vitriol spreading online that year... so I'm grateful there was also a lot of collective laughter and joy - John Krasinski's videos were a gem, and my Monday Memes posts really took off that year! lol
4. The Fam -- I see so much of God's goodness and grace to us in Dad's job security/stability, everyone staying healthy, Mom homeschooling the kids and enjoying that, and our regular swim party get-togethers and dinners with each other!
3. The Peloton Community -- The year I bought and built an exercise bike and went all in with the fun, empowering, encouraging, endorphin-fueled Peloton workouts (cycling, walking, yoga, strength)! The collective joy and movement, the way this connected me and Malori, and the motivating FB community of the #BooCrew and #Peloton crowd all meant a lot and helped keep me healthy and strong that year!!
2. Malori -- My mind will forever associate 2020 with that friendship, which feels appropriate: a pivotal, emotionally chaotic, sometimes overblown, sometimes destructive, sometimes beautiful, often inconsistent and confusing, forever-imprinted-in-my-memory friendship/season that built my resilience and helped me to see life more clearly in the end. The glimmering hope of that reconnection really mattered to me throughout that entire year, and what I learned through chasing it will matter to me and have a positive ripple effect for the rest of my life. *I took the lock-screen screenshot bc it made me happy to see all three of them on my phone that afternoon. lol #VCGO2010
1. Annie & Eddie -- and now we've come full circle from the top of this post! I just adore them both, and their daily shows for the first six weeks of the pandemic were such a joyful part of my daily life! Then the twice-weekly shows through the rest of 2020 and the first half of 2021 were a real gift of connection, friendship, joy, laughter, and staying up to date on important and trivial news. The silly stuff, the poignant quotes and deep topics, Eddie's hot takes, Annie's laughter and thoughtfulness, and the way they modeled healthy (married male/ single female) friendship all had a sustaining and strengthening effect for me in 2020. And I love that I'm able to revisit it whenever I'd like, which definitely includes this current spring!! =)
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