Do I Dare Open the 2020 "Good Things" Jar?

12/31/2020-I opened my jar, to see what good things had happened this year, despite it having been a very difficult year for many, with over 300,000 deaths from COVID-19.

There were more good things than I expected. Not as many "big things" as 2019, but perhaps in 2020 we learned to appreciate the "small things."

03/11/2020-Returned today from a great trip to North Carolina. Spent time with family and celebrated one grandson's tenth birthday. On the trip home, I noticed some were wearing masks in the airport. Three days after my return, we began a lock-down in Wisconsin.

04/12/2020-Wonderful Easter day with on-line service on You Tube. I made note of this on a little slip of paper and added it to my "Good Things" jar, because it seemed so unusual. We didn't realize this would continue until the end of 2020 and into 2021!

06/03/2020-The brown footlocker is cleaned out and gone! I was so happy quarantine gave me an excuse to do some purging, including this footlocker I had dragged around for more than fifty years. Perhaps this is an example of the little things that make us happy!

06/05/2020-My eighteen-year-old grandson missed the second semester of his senior year in high school, but was able to have a parking lot graduation ceremony, complete with bleach and toilet paper on the “stage.” I wasn't there, but I was so happy for him, that he had SOME celebration, that the occasion made it into the "Good Things" jar.

06/27/2020- My birthday made it into the jar, despite no family being around. There were still phone calls, cards, and flowers. And two of my friends came to my door, masks on, and brought me a cake, which we enjoyed together at a "social distance." They took their masks off for this photo. I'm sure all of your celebrations looked different in 2020, too.

9/21/2020-A friend of mine had to have surgery here in Wausau, WI and needed a place to recover. Her family all had COVID-19, and the available rehab places also had COVID. What to do? I was delighted to have her stay with me for a few days, and she got stronger every day. This was a true 2020 dilemma, and I'm sure my readers faced things like this as well. It had a happy ending, so the event made it into the "Good Things" jar. Here is a picture of us from 2018.

10/06/2020-Picnic in a parking lot with some of my bridge friends. I'll bet you had some get-togethers like these, while the weather was still nice! Just being with other people was something to really celebrate, so of course that made it into the jar!

11/03/2020-Kamala Harris became the first woman vice-president-elect It’s a big deal!! So it made it into my jar.

11/17/2020-Returned from a wonderful trip to visit my daughter and family in Washington. It was a risk, but I hadn't seen them in eleven months and felt very safe on my Delta flights. Our visit was low key, but there were lots of the hugs I had been missing, and we all stayed healthy afterward.

11/22/2020-A ZOOM baby shower for a mom-to-be in California made my happiness jar. I wasn't sure how it would be, but it was great fun seeing people from all over the country, as well as friends I had missed for many months. ZOOM has really become a household word in 2020. We love it and hate it at the same time!

12/6/2020- My neighbor gave me her packing boxes. I was really thrilled! I am using the boxes as I prepare for my move to North Carolina the end of January. It is a big move, after over forty years as a Wisconsinite. Luckily, I can still stay in touch with my Blog friends!

12/11/2020-“Paint for a Purpose” ZOOM art class through the Center for the Visual Arts. Another great ZOOM experience, painting with acrylics with forty-five other people. I love opportunities to create and try something new.

12/21/2020-Delivered carload of items for the Warming Center at First United Methodist Church. Items were contributed by residents at my apartment complex. They were wonderfully generous, filling my car with items from the Warming Center wish list. It seems there is a pent-up desire to help others in all the ways we can, as we know so many are suffering in the COVID-19 economy.