Just a few days left of 2020. Perhaps like never before, New Year’s Day brings hope of a fresh start and the beginning of a return to normal. And while the expectations for 2021 are high, I think we all have a much better appreciation for what normal is. Or was.

Much has been written about everything negative that happened in 2020. The catastrophic wildfire in Australia captivated the world at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, and yet seem like a distant memory now, a mere footnote to the year. Phrases like ‘new normal’, ‘we’re all in this together’, and of course, ‘social distancing’ became part of our vocabulary.

Living in the pandemic caused many changes for all of us, and we learned that there were things we could live without and things we most certainly had to have for survival. Those of us who already worked from home were quite familiar with Zoom, but today even kindergartners are adept at the platform. I have occasionally used an N95 mask while performing some ill-fated home renovation project without knowing it was an N95 mask. Now we all know what that is. And I will never, ever walk past the toilet paper aisle again without pausing to consider if I am properly stocked up. But enough has been written about what was bad in 2020. There were good things too.

Early in the lockdown, my kids and I connected with relatives in Denmark on a family Skype video call. It was great to see everyone and hear what they were up to. And it occurred to me that had it not been for the pandemic, we would have been too busy to make that happen. And so I started to keep my eyes peeled for good things that came as a result of the pandemic.

Ashley, one of my coworkers, suggested that we have a virtual happy hour. As a virtual company spread out all over the US and Canada, we rarely see each other face to face. Some team members haven’t ever met in person. Yet here we were, getting a chance to see and hear each other, and talk about things other than post engagement and click through rates.

*The team bonding at our virtual happy hour*

Like everyone else, we started expanding our culinary talents in my house. I baked bread with my daughter for the first time. (note: the one pound bag of yeast I bought on Amazon was probably too much) My son and I learned to make empanadas, bagels, and beignets. We bought a projector screen and have watched nearly 40 movies since March as a family. I spoke with all three of my college roommates, none of whom I had talked to in years. My other son and I built a pond for his turtles.

*Our maiden voyage into the bread baking world*

There were good news stories out there in the world too. We saw what taking most cars off the road for just six weeks could do for air quality; a study showed that nitrogen dioxide levels dropped over 25% during that short period of time. It didn’t take long for a variety of animal species to begin to explore empty urban areas as well. Those six weeks taught us a lot about the damage humans do to the planet in a short period of time, but it also taught us nature can recover quickly if given a break. Imagine what a concerted effort over a year or a decade could do.

And science kept on sciencing...we watched with awe as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on May 30th, the first time in nearly a decade that astronauts had launched from US soil. It brought back great memories of watching the Space Shuttle launches when I was a kid. And speaking of science, I don’t think any of us fully realize what it took to get the Covid 19 vaccines ready as fast as they were. Time will judge their effectiveness, but just to get to this point took a herculean effort.

As for our company...it was a little dicey there for a few months but we survived. And now three of our team members have babies on the way! And what could be more positive than that?

And finally, while virtual school isn’t without its challenges for kids or parents, I have gotten to spend a LOT more time with my kids. I feel like I know them better, and am more in touch with what they are learning, but also what they are thinking and feeling. I appreciate that now, but I know that years from now I will appreciate having had that time even more.

If nothing else...when it is all said and done, 2020 has taught us all just how amazing normal can be.

Silver Linings