It’s hard to believe that the summer of 2020 is coming to a close. In some ways it feels like it never even started. But that’s 2020 for you. If 2020 was a plaything, it would belong in “The Land of Misfit Toys”.
The year has been a challenge, mentally, physically and financially. 2020 has weighed on us all like an 800-pound gorilla sitting atop our collective chest. It has made not just finding, but seeking the silver lining alone a daunting task. Yet shades of silver are all around us.
Some who were used to ordering out and regularly eating at restaurants, maybe you picked up a few culinary skills on your own. Some who have children who scatter and go to friends’ homes or have some other activities outside the home, maybe you spent more time as a family. Some who travel regularly, maybe you spent more time in the 410, saved a few dollars and were able to do some things that you never quite found the time for in the past.
2020 hasn’t been ideal – far from it. As I sit here reflecting I’m also reminded of some beautiful people I know who lost their lives during this trip around the sun that seemingly won’t end. There has been more pain than happiness, more sorrow than laughter. The weight of it all frays your nerves and challenges your good nature.
My Dad used to tell me that life is easy when things are good but the character of a person is defined by how they handle the not-so-good things. He’d tell me not to let the bad win by giving into it. Instead, learn from it and use its teachings to make better choices, better decisions in the future and if you do, eventually you turn the bad to good.
Like Paul McCartney first sang 52 years ago, “take a sad song and make it better”.
So, if you find regret in the summer that has slipped away, look back on all those morsels of good and cherish those times, embrace those memories. And for all that didn’t go your way or our way in 2020, be proud of your ability to persevere and store those lost battles away.
Perhaps one day you won’t see them as losses but instead as gifts to set you on an even better path and a happier journey.
Here’s to the best of the summer of 2020. Here’s to its lessons.
And here’s to the future.
What are your takeaways from the Summer of 2020?
