2020 Hindsight

I have been looking at 2020 as a year of milestones since I realized it would be Alexa's Graduation from HS and Kevin and TJ's Graduations from College.  Then we found out that Lauren was getting married in 2020.  So four of the six Walters Family Cousins had big news in 2020.  Well, on the 182nd day of 2020, we can add one more (FIVE of six) to the pile of 2020 milestones.  Yes, on 6/30/2020, my niece Ashley, and her partner, moved into their brand new home.  It has been an exciting day and it was great to visit them and feel the energy and excitement of a couple that has just moved in to their first home.  It made my 2020 Hindsight for tonight be Starting Out Together.  As we enter the month of July and Sarah and my 21st Wedding anniversary approaches, it was fun to tour their new house, see their smiles and excitement, and remember when we, pre-kids, were starting out together as well.  Now years later, our kids are the babysitters and the coll...

So 6/29/2020 is the 181st day of 2020.  And, the day was palindromically good!  Started of with my chiro adjustment.  Good meetings at work.  Advising Meetings and a Band meeting in the evening.  But none of those events are my inspiration for my 2020 Hindsight tonight.  Yes, my 2020 Hindsight is Happy Anniversary Winnie and Jim!  Winnie and Jim are Sarah's parents and today is the anniversary of their wedding.  As I thank my parents on their anniversary for finding each other and starting the Sherrs, I am eternally grateful for Sarah's Parents for finding each other and starting their family.  If it weren't for that, I am sure my life would be as happy as it is now.  I looked around at my family today and realized how lucky I am.  And it's largely because of the wedding that happened today and the family it started.  Blessed!

I woke up on the 180th day of 2020 and looked at my phone and Facebook.  It reminded me, on 6/28/2020, that we were in Sea Isle City as a complete extended family of ten ten short years ago.  Each Summer, for over a decade, we have all gotten together, either on the East Coast (Even Years) or the West Coast (Odd Years).  We all knew 2020 would be a little different because of graduations, but who knew HOW different it would be.  While I am disappointed that we will not be getting together this Summer, my 2020 Hindsight is Family Vacations.  The memories we have, Facebook and otherwise, will be with us for decades to come.  I feel blessed that we were always able to get together and can't wait until situations allow us to get together again!

It was movie night again in the Sherr Household on the 179th day of 2020.  The movie for 6/27/20 was Just Mercy.  It was a great movie.  I remember when Bryan Stevenson came to speak at Commencement last year (2019) and now I am even happier to call him a fellow alumnus (he now has an Honorary Degree from Penn!)  The movie was quite eye opening and moving.  We were all sobbing during the Electric Chair scene and I am sickened to think that, in the land of the free and the brave, we continue to take people's lives.  For every 9 people executed by the law, 1 person is set free from Death Row.  That is a horrifying percentage of innocent people (and that is the minimum for how many innocent people have actually been killed?) and it solidifies for me my opposition to the Death Penalty.  My 2020 Hindsight is And Justice for All.  Capital punishment remains a legal penalty in the United States, currently used by 28 states, the federal governme...

Whew!  Thank God It's Friday!  I started the 178th day of 2020 with low biorhythms.  I just was unmotivated and really did not want to be "at" work.  It's been a week filled with 14-16 hour days in front of the screen, just a lot of work and a lot of churn with Penn's announcement this week and the lead-up to and fallout from.  Sigh.  But, at the end of 6/26/2020, I was in a MUCH better mood.  Strangely enough, my late day Friday meetings were good ones and I ended the workday with a smile on my face, had dinner with my family out on the back patio, had a fun Church Choir Zoom call, and will be going to bed earlier than usual tonight.  My 2020 Hindsight is that I am glad THAT week is over!  Next week is looming, but a relaxing weekend is hopefully on tap!

Here we are at 6/25/2020.  Remember 6 months ago, at Christmas, when things were much more normal and holidays could be spent outside and concerts and light shows and Church Services were the norm?  Well, it's day 177 of 2020, 6 months later and the world seems turned upside down.  Nothing is normal anymore and I am not sure if we will ever return to "normal" again (I LOATHE the term "new normal" so I refuse to use it here).  My 2020 Hindsight is Merry 1/2 Christmas.  The Christmas season is filled with Hope, Love, and Joy.  And I am wishing the world all of those things and an end to the stress and quarantine of COVID!

The 176th day of 2020 was a long work day.  I was late for an 8AM meeting (overslept) and have basically been sitting here at this desk ever since.  NOT good for my physical, mental, or emotional health.  And, yes, I am not too down on 6/24/2020.  Why?, you ask?  Well, because my 2020 Hindsight is that I am bursting with PRIDE.  June is Pride Month and the Penn Band made an amazing video (linked on the page, below) and I was so happy to be a part of it and to stand up and profess my support for Pride Month and for equality for all.  Love is Love!  All you need is Love!  Happy Pride Month everyone and and listen to the video over and over.  I did today and it put me in a better mood.  Even if I did sit at my computer for 16 hours.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XawYvh49dw&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1Yr0SG_hQL1Wx5WUD3XtdanzoNskp7FohrFnujSkL79fDtSebBK1Iqtmk

I saw two more academic advisees on the 175th day of 2020.  After work on 6/23/2020, I stayed online, on Zoom.  Usually, by 6PM, I would be low energy and "Zoomed Out," but I was not so tonight.  I spoke to two incoming students in the College Class of 2024 and I could not help smile and be energized by these young people.  Their genuine happiness in starting college, their smiles, the questions, and their interesting background and plans for the future.  My 2020 Hindsight is that enthusiasm energizes me.  I am lucky that the College allows me to serve as a Pre-Major advisor and glad for the energy at the end of a workday!

On the 174th day of 2020, Facebook kept sending me reminders of how fast time is flying.  First, it is the 18th birthday of Alexa's friends from elementary school.  FB reminded me this with an amazing picture from 1st grade!  Then a reminder that my friend Don finished his MSN 9 years ago.  When Alexa was 9.  And now she will be going to Penn Nursing in the Fall.  She was 9 and now she is Nursing School.  Time is flying.  On 6/22/2020, my 2020 Hindsight is Where has the time gone?  I have a feeling I will be asking this question a lot more as the Summer goes by.

My 2020 Hindsight for the 173rd day of 2020 is that I Like My Block.  Now, I am not talking about the unit block of West Beechwood Avenue in Oaklyn (although I DO like most of by neighbors!)  No, on 6/21/2020, I am talking about Father's Day.  Father's Day always makes me think back to the influential fathers in my life.  My amazing dad David Sherr, my mom's father Aaron Bechtel, and my dad's foster father Sol Soskin. All of these men were (and are) significant influences in my life.  The father that I aspire to be is to emulate the best aspects of these men, to listen to their teachings and to be the best dad I can be.  So, Happy Father's Day everyone!  And I am glad for my Block, since I am a chip off of these fine men.

Tonight's saying that I am thinking about is "those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it."  On 6/20/2020, after watching the documentary 13th, I sadly think we are repeating our history and, frankly, my 2020 Hindsight is that I am ashamed of our history.  This documentary should be required viewing in every school in every US history class.  The stark statistics of the number of incarcerated people in America (5% of the world's population, 25% of the world's prisoners), the disproportionate percentages of people of color in US prisons, the fact that thousands up thousands of people are incarcerated JUST because they cannot post bail for crimes they may not even have committed, it's making me sick.  So, on the 172nd day of 2020, I go to be enraged again about the state of our society.  And my resolve to do what I can (as limited as it might be) to change things is resolute.  We need to educate more people about our history, so we can stop repeating it...

The saying goes that "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied."  And that is my 2020 Hindsight for the 171st day of 2020.  Prior to this year, I knew that June 19th (Juneteenth) was the anniversary of the emancipation of the slaves in the US.  What I did not know is that on January 1st 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation became official but it was not until TWO AND HALF years later that Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas and the order was enforced.  Sadly, 155 years later on 6/19/2020, I am not sure we have undelayed justice in our World, yet.  Witness the amount of time it took to arrest the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery.  Witness the limited charges that were eventually brought on the officers who participated in the killing of George Floyd and the light charges that were finally increased against the officer who knelt on George's neck, strangling the life out of him.  I just finished watching the miniseries When they See Us, about the Central Park F...

On the 170th day of 2020, I spent some time, after work, doing some research on what I could watch, ready, or listen to tomorrow, to reflect on Juneteenth and the experiences that Black people have had throughout history.  On 6/18/20, I ordered Frederick Douglass' essay "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" but I will likely read that next week as, appropriately, we are closer to the July 4th holiday.  I now have a list of things to read and watch and listen to so that I can get more information on the history of ALL people in this country.  My 2020 Hindsight is that I need to be educated.  How did I not know the depth of the horrors of Rosewood in Tulsa until watching 60 Minutes last Sunday?  What other blind spots/gaps do I have in my knowledge?  I need to spend a lot of time learning, not because I will every understand fully the pain and suffering that has been experienced by Black people in America.  But the more that I know, the better I can...

On the 169th day of 2020, Alexa went on a scavenger hunt designed by two of her Field Hockey coaches and, at the end was given an amazing basket of gifts, customized to her.  And this 6/17/2020 event was a result of an "Adopt-A Senior" program (we adopted TWO!) that was started and run by her Basketball Coach.  Every Class of 2020 Student in the HS was adopted and received gifts from a family other than their own.  This has me reflecting, as I am wont to do at this time of each day, and my 2020 Hindsight is a caring community of coaches.  Today's hunt involved all three FH coaches (her varsity coach was a stop along the way in the hunt) and her basketball coach.  But there have been so many amazing coaches along the way (and this exercise will be difficult because I am sure to miss some!).  But it all started in Little League Softball with Kathy Press and Brian Cole and then Nick Cussat and Craig Stauts and then Shawn Fore and now Bob Wetherspoon.  And...

One of the things I like the most about working for Penn is the interactions I have with students.  That has made this COVID quarantine difficult as I am rarely on campus and, when I am, it lacks the energy and activity that the students bring.  But, on the 168th day of 2020, I realized something that will help me get through the next few weeks.  On 6/16/2020, I had my second advising session with one of my new advisees in the Class of 2024.  And, from the advisee I met yesterday, I received good news about a placement exam and helped him register for a summer class to get a head start on his college career.  I ended a long day at work and was tired, but I ended my advising session energized and upbeat.  My 2020 Hindsight is advising enthusiasm.  So glad I am able to keep a toe in the student experience and that is provides me energy after a long day at work.  Here we go, welcome Class of 2024!

It was back to work on the 167th day of 2020.  But I kept being distracted, on 6/15/20, by notifications or messages or alerts from people responding to the Class of 2020 Photo Shoot the OPS Alumni had yesterday.  Replies to posts congratulating Alexa and her Classmates on their graduation.  Messages among parents, helping each other, supporting each other.  And that is my 2020 Hindsight for tonight: Community Support.  I know I say it a lot, but it DOES take a village and the village came out to celebrate the Class of 2020 these past days and, frankly, they deserve this.  The resilience this class has shown has only been possible because of the community support they (and we) have all felt.

The 166th day of 2020 started off in the best way.  Not because on 6/14/2020 we skipped Church (first time in quarantine), but because the graduating students in the Class of 2020 (well most, not all of them) reunited on the steps of the Oaklyn Public School, where they spent many of their formative educational years.  Some moved to a different town, some preferred Catholic High School, some wanted their high school experience to begin in 9th grade (back them OPS was K-9), and some School Choiced for academic and/or athletic programs.  But, this morning, they were all OPS Alumni, and they took pictures and laughed and, better yet, the parents got to see each other again.  My 2020 Hindsight is OPS Forever.  They will always be classmates, friends, and hopefully will continue to stay in contact as they disburse to different colleges in different states and eventually move all across the country.  I have always liked this cohort of students (and not just becau...

June 13th always makes me smile.  It's because 6/13/2020 was the birthday of two of my BESTest friends.  Alex Kudera, one of my first best friends, if not THE first, from my old stomping grounds in University City, turned 51 on the 165th day of 2020.  And my best friend and neighbor from my current stomping grounds, Kathy Press, turned 57.  We only got to see Kathy, brought her some of the best creme filled donuts in the land (from McMillan's!) but I hope Alex knows we were thinking about him too on this day.  My 2020 Hindsight for tonight is bookend best friends.  Two friends, one from when I was young and one now that I am older (not old, yet!)  Makes June 13th a day that makes me smile.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Kathy and Alex!

The 164th day of 2020 was a day to remember for the rest of our lives.  A day later than we had expected (well, actually a week BEFORE we had expected, when we expected a normal ceremony), Alexa walked across the "stage" in the Collingswood Stadium, turned her tassel and was pronounced a HS Graduate.  She also brought home a bunch of awards and scholarships and we got to take pictures and I actually was not as emotional as I thought I would have been.  Yes, another modified (but not missed) milestone was cataloged on 6/12/2020.  Alexa worked so hard to achieve academic excellence while taking advantage of all that CHS had to offer, 3-sport athlete for 4 years, participated in the arts (Choral Senior Spirit Award!), and was involved in multiple clubs.  I am glad she will have some downtime this summer (well, she is working and summer softball season looks to be happening!) and she gets ready for the challenges of college and starts her next phase at Penn Nursing!...

The 163rd day brought me to another event in the theme of my hindsight from last Friday.  Yes, on 6/11/2020 we had another milestone: modified not missed.  When I realized that the Little League season's cancellation would lead to a loss of a season of Snack Stand.  But one thing HAD to happen.  6/11 also happens to be the birthday of the daughter of a good friend and neighbor who, 7 years ago, was watching her son play a baseball game on her daughter's 4th birthday.  We wanted to make it special for her even though the game was featuring her brother, so we pulled out a funnel cake, baked it up, put a slab of ice cream on it, and, voila!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAZEL!  Well, tonight we commemorated her 11th (PALINDROME) birthday and we did it in our old familiar place (the SNACK STAND), but we had to sub an Eggo Waffle in place of a funnel cake (fun fact, the smallest increment of funnel cakes I could find was a case of 48.... that's even too much cake for me...

Some days I just do not find much inspiration to decide what to post about in my daily post.  The 162nd day of 2020 is one of those days.  So, on 6/10/2020, I went online and did a search on June 10th to see what I could find.  Well, 268 years ago, Ben Franklin flew his kite and collected ambient electricity in a jar.  While this is just an interesting fact, it did make me think.  My 2020 Hindsight is Good Ol' Ben Franklin.  You can't think about Ben without thinking about Penn.  Well, at least I cannot.  And that gets me nostalgic because I miss campus, my kid is heading there after finishing school (which wraps up this week), and Penn is woven through my life in so many ways.  I guess it's a good enough muse for tonight's thoughts....  Goodnight all!

So the 161st day of 2020 was my first of 4 days off of work around Alexa's Graduation.  I was not sure what the schedule of events would be (and they said they would happen June 9-11) so I took the rest of the week off after working on Monday.  And I was on the computer on 6/9/2020 but it was by choice, not necessity, and Anna and Sarah got to kayak on the lake and it was just a chill day.  My 2020 Hindsight is Staycation.  During Corona most vacations are staycations but we're gonna make the best of it!

It was not the Prom that we thought would happen but, on the 160th day of 2020, one of Alexa's classmates had a Friends-Prom for quarantine at her house (thanks so much for hosting, Stout Family!)  Originally Thursday, the weather moved it to 6/8/2020 and the weather tonight was perfect.  What a nice night to see Alexa and all of her friends decked out in their wonderful dresses.  We potlucked the food and the decorations were beautiful and the playlist was fun and the girls had a great time.  My 2020 Hindsight is Good Friends.  Again, so fun to look at all of these kids and remember all the way back to Pre-School, or 4th grade soccer, or 5th grade basketball when we first met them and now, years later, they are all ready to graduate HS and fly on their own.  But, for this night, they were together again, and I hope they always stay in touch!

My 2020 Hindsight on the 159th day of 2020 has to do with Church.  More specifically, the hindsight theme is Congregational Support.  Now, usually when I say those words, I am talking about financial contributions to the Church (I am the Financial Secretary and all).  But, tonight, I am talking about support FROM the Church.  From its members, the Congregation.  6/7/2020 was Trinity Sunday at Church (or should I say ON Church (Zoom)) this morning.  It was also a Communion Sunday.  But, additionally, it was a Sunday to celebrate our graduates.  And two of those graduates are Alexa and her good friend, Meg.  Alexa and Meg have grown up in and around the Church.  And so many people from Old First have been influential in their lives.  One of the gifts today was a video made for them with words of congratulations and advice from so many of the Church members who have been integral to their development.  "It takes a village" is both...

I got both nostalgic and emotional on the 158th day of 2020.  Alexa and I started off on 6/6/2020 in a Graduation Parade for one of her Mustangs Softball teammates.  It truly was touching to see how much a small parade of teammates meant to her and I was happy we were able to celebrate with her this morning.  Then I got out my new external CD Drive and loaded Alexa's Senior Pictures to my computer.  All of the pics are of course amazing in my "unbiased" opinion.  And it brought me to my Google Drive where I encountered a raft of pictures of Alexa and her classmates through the years.  And that was the nostalgic and emotional part.  My 2020 Hindsight is Photographs and Memories.  Running into this treasure trove of pictures made me realize that an era is coming to an end.  This next week is Alexa's last week of HS and I am realizing that I will miss her classmates and the community of parents we have in this Class as much as I will miss my own...

The 157th day of 2020 is the end of a very emotional week.  So much has happened this week but I want to focus on some milestones that have passed.  Monday was Anna's Sweet 16 Birthday Party.  Yesterday was my Parents' 54th wedding anniversary, my nephew Stefan's 8th  grade graduation and was SUPPOSED to be Alexa's Prom.  Today, I was supposed to be in California for my nephew Niels' High School graduation but instead, on 6/5/2020, I watched the Zoom Ceremony on YouTube Live.  It was a very nice ceremony and it got me thinking...... I did not miss the graduation, I experienced it in a different way (and Sarah and the girls could experience it as well, instead of missing it).  Anna didn't have her Sweet 16 party this past weekend, but she had a uplifting car parade on Monday and a few friends are coming over for a socially distanced fire pit.  Alexa's prom will hopefully occur in July and we got to see Stefan's ceremony online as well.  I got ...

On the 156th day of 2020, I am, again, going to ignore the state of society and all of the bad news out there and focus on happiness and love.  6/4/2020 is the 54th Wedding Anniversary of my mom and dad.  Dad graduated from Penn (for the first time) and they got married 3 weeks later!  I am so happy they met (at Penn, where I met Sarah) because I am not sure where I would be (or IF I would be) if they hadn't.  They are such a great example of a couple that has endless love for each other (and their family) and, with that love, works through all of the hurdles that life throws in their way.  I aspire to be married for as long as they are.  And I appreciate that marriage is amazing, but requires work sometimes, and they have shown me the way to complete the work, always in a loving and kind manner.  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM and DAD!

The 155th day was filled with surprises.  First, on 6/3/2020, Anna was awarded her prizes as the 10th Grade winner of the Positive Panther Project.  She got a cake from a wonderful bakery and some artsy materials.  And, we got free dinner (pizza and wings) which made Sarah really happy (she had cooked up a storm the last two days!)  Then Alexa got called in to work (although she did have to deliver in the middle of a massive T-Storm) and, when she got back, her Senior Adopter (not sure who it is!) left her a Box of Sunshine.  With the news being crazy and a bit overwhelming, it's nice to have events that make us smile.  My 2020 Hindsight is Pleasant Surprises,  More of these would be nice!

Day #154 was another day in Quarantine.  Work dominated most of the day as I was off on Monday so I had to catch up!  I sit here, a day AFTER 6/2/2020 and I realize that yesterday's 2020 Hindsight was I Missed a Day!  Missed a day of commenting but it was probably OK because Anna's Sweet 16 post got to be tops on my page for 48 hours!  I guess the lesson is that it is OK to take a day off every once and a while.  Take care of yourselves everyone!

We interrupt my postings about current events (and the crowd thinks to themselves, "Thank God!") and, on the 153rd day of 2020, we focus on the one and only Anna Sherr!  At 2:18AM on 6/1/2020, this young woman turned 16!  As I said on my post, this is NOT the Sweet 16 we thought she would have.  No, at the start of the year, I thought I would be reflecting on her party this past Saturday, not the world wracked with a virus and violence and an incompetent National Leadership (oops, current events creeping in, back to Anna!)  We had fun celebrating Anna today.  From a car parade by her friends, to fun balloons, to a nice, small, family dinner on the back patio (with homemade mac & cheese thanks to the work of Alexa and Sarah and the recipe from my Mom and Sister!), there were a lot of smiles today and smiles are always a good thing.  My 2020 Hindsight is Sweet Anna turns 16!  Time is flying (I forget which one of my friends said it, but I will repeat...