2020 Hindsight: 20 Things for which to be Thankful

Thanksgiving 2020 was a Thanksgiving like no other.  I think it was the first Thanksgiving in which I was not with my parents, or Sarah's parents.  Yes Thanksgiving on the 331st day of 2020 meant just the four Sherrs living in our household ate dinner together.  But Sarah and Anna made a great meal (and I did all of the cleanup) and we were able to dine together and feel blessed and thankful, even during a pandemic.  Yes, on 11/26/2020, my 2020 Hindsight is 20 Things for which to be Thankful.  I know it's been a rough year, but I think finding 20 things to articulate in a thankful way was a good exercise for me tonight.  I am hopeful that things get better for us all soon, and hope you can find 20 things inspiring thankfulness for you too.  Here's my list for tonight:

 1. My Family

 2. Our relatively good health

 3. Employment has stayed consistent

 4. My parents, Sarah's parents, our extended family

 5. My community of Oaklyn

 6. My Church Community (and Zoom Church)

 7. My academic advisees and other students with whom I speak

 8. Alexa's first semester of Penn Nursing, even if remote

 9. The Penn Band

10. The SRFS "Family" (i.e. work community)

11. The Marco Polo App and our family's daily chats on it

12. Friends who stay in touch during the pandemic

13. Skylar, my dog

14. Shell Gas Points (thanks, Laura!)

15. Colleagues at work wanting to tackle racial injustice

16. The Pool at Royal Fitness

17. Healthcare Heros on the front line of this pandemic

18. First responders, especially the Oaklyn Police Dept. and Volunteer Fire Company and those serving our country in the Armed Forces, at home and overseas!

19. Compression Stockings and my CPAP machine

20. Pivot Tables in Excel

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2020 Hindsight: A "Down" Day

My 2020 Hindsight for 12/30/2020 is A "Down" Day.  I put down in quotation marks because I am not down today, on the contrary, I just finished an evening of Japanese takeout, chocolate pudding pie made by Anna, and a family game night.  I am smiling as I write this.  But, it was a "down" day in that we never really got "up" today.  Slept in, and did not have anything we HAD to do today.  Even my excursion/quest around the supermarkets of Camden County looking for Ground Mustard was fun because I got to laugh and listen to classic rock on the radio with Anna (I am loving her interest in the music of the 70s and 80s and her new record player).  It was another needed vacation day.  I am not going to lie and say I did no work at all, I did catch up on my email and do a few quick tasks....but, again, we did not HAVE to be anywhere at any specific time and the downtime was nice and needed.  May you all find the time, as this crazy year finally comes to ...
Read more

2020 Hindsight: As Unplugged as I Will Ever Be

12/27/2020 started with the last Sunday Church Service of the year.  The 42nd week of online Church on the 362nd day of 2020 (and, if you saw my past prediction, only 38 more to go!)  Then, after a day of errands, we came home and watched some football (Eagles, yech!) and movies (WW84, meh!).  But, what was more remarkable is that I realized that, on Saturday, I sent zero emails.  That's right, zero, zilch, nada.  I used sent emails as a gauge of how much I have been working.  Read emails do not count because a) I read them on my phone and b) I get SO many political and spammy messages.  Most of them are deleted without ever being read.  On Sunday, in fact, I sent only FOUR emails.  Three for Church (Attendance Report and Financial Reports for end of month) and one to the Penn Band Alumni Listserv.  So, friends, that is ZERO emails over the Saturday and Sunday Weekend days.  My 2020 Hindsight is as unplugged as I will ever be. ...
Read more

2020 HIndsight: And to All a Good Night

Day #360 of 2020 was not the Night Before Christmas.  No, it's 12/25/2020, Christmas Day.  And, once again, we found a way to keep traditions alive while still remaining safe in pandemic times.  We missed the family crowd at our Traditional NJ Walters Family Christmas Breakfast, but we appreciate Jackie still making sure we got it.  We enjoyed watching the Cousin Gift Exchange, but it was different on Zoom, and we missed the post-opening hugs.  And, after a Zoom with the CA Sherrs (which is normal for our Christmas), we had a nice family dinner.  Except the family was just the four of us (and Skylar and Talia), instead of the usual 14-16 people around two tables.  But Sarah cooked an amazing roast and Anna helped her make the rest, and Alexa and Anna decorated cookies, and we all dined together and watched movies and the Charlie Brown Christmas Special (and even an NFL Football Game).  My 2020 Hindsight is And to all, a Good Night!  I wish bl...
Read more