Remember when the calendar flipped to 2020 and we were all excited about a new decade?
Seems like forever ago, doesn’t it?
Little did we know that 2020 would soon change all of our lives, some permanently.
I tell people that we had to know that 2020 was going to be rough when two things happened.
First, Kobe Bryant tragically died. No one saw that one coming.
Then a couple weeks later, our dog Eddie, who predated our marriage and kids, took his last breaths just a few months before he would have been 17.
After all that happened, society turned into chaos.
Fast forward to June, and one of our kittens, Teddy, collapsed in our oldest’s arms and joined Eddie.
In 2020, we learned that the word “coronavirus” was not about getting sick from a certain beer, and we also learned what the word “pandemic” meant.
We were told to wash our hands and not to cough or sneeze on anyone, stay home, and that the virus would be gone, the “curve flattened” in no time.
Well, two years later and here we are.
For most, we have learned to navigate the ever-changing guidelines and mandates and move forward with our lives.
That’s easier said than done for others, unfortunately.
I do believe that we are getting to the “endemic” stage of all this mess and I am hopeful that happens this year. Sooner than later would be nice, too.
Now for the sappy part of this column.
There are days that I sit back and just think about life. We always hear that life is too short to worry about all the petty stuff going on, and I try to follow that.
I have always believed that you can’t sweat the small stuff because guess what? It’s all small stuff.
Pretty much every day, I reflect on how life was going into 2020. Businesses were thriving, family gatherings were not something we thought twice about, and we could see faces at schools, stores, sporting events, you name it.
Yes, times always are a-changing, that much is given, but these past two years have handed us the ability to either come together or divide us.
I choose to come together.
You? Please choose wisely.
— Matt Mackinder