What a year 2020 has been! But reading back on the other reflection posts I’ve written, I’ve said the same thing about the year, but this year has been eventful, to say the least. At the end of the year, I like to reflect on how the year went, the good and the bad. I also like to write goals for the following year, so in June, I do a mid-way check, and at the end of the year, I’ll see how many I achieved or which goals were changed.
I’m not going to lie, this post might be kind of long, so if you don’t get to the end, I won’t be mad, LOL. This post is mostly for me, honestly. Usually, I keep the reflection posts private, but I’m going to share 2020! So, let’s start at the beginning.
January
In January, we were still planning and getting ready for our wedding for the following month. We spent New Year’s with friends, and it was fun. The year started with a water pipe breaking from the apartment above us. My husband had to leave work early that day to make sure everything was okay. This month was also my Bachelorettes’ and Bridal Shower Weekend. That weekend was beyond perfect, and you can read all about it here. This month, I applied for a management position at the hospital, and I received a call back to go interview. I wrote a blog post about it because we can have plans for our lives, but it’s God’s plans that really prevail. You can read all about that experience here. Long story short, I didn’t end up getting the management position, but I got offered another position. I took it because I felt like that was where God was calling me to go, and it was always a dream of mine to work at a hospital. So, now I had many things to look forward to the following month.
February
My birthday month and now our wedding!!! The countdown was getting closer and closer, and the anxiety and anticipation were rising. Our friends and family were coming to celebrate our love, and I was over the moon. Our wedding was BEYOND perfect. I know I say this a lot, but things really come out better than planned when you pray and leave it in God’s hands. I couldn’t believe I was getting married, and when it was all over, it felt like a dream. We got married on February 13th, which is my birthday and my little sister’s birthday. Also, that same day is the Pastor who married us, birthday, and a friend of ours. So, it was like a quadruple celebration, LOL. (You can see pictures of our wedding on my Instagram account under the highlights stories). Two weeks before my wedding was the last day of my old job, which was bittersweet, and then the Monday after our wedding was the first day of my new job. My emotions were ALL OVER THE PLACE during this month, like A LOT going on at once.
March
We all know what’s coming. I was getting accustomed to my new commute to and from work, and all of a sudden, COVID was getting worse and worse, and we had to work from home. My husband was already working from home, and my daughter was doing online school when the hospital decided that we were going to work from home. I bought a new laptop to prepare and now to get used to all of us being home all the time for who knows how long. It was definitely an adjustment. I wrote about my struggle and posted it back in May. You can read about it here.
April
I had to take a break from social media because I was overwhelmed with COVID-19 misinformation being spread online. And also, to take care of my mental health. I started online therapy again.
May
This month I officially finished with my master’s degree, and I did a photoshoot to celebrate. My graduation ceremony was canceled, but they did a virtual commencement. Congrats to all the 2020 graduates! Too much was going on still online for me, so I was very limited with what I posted and how often I went online.
June
Not too much going on during the summertime since we were still in lock-down and not going anywhere. I started an online course to get my coding certification. My husband’s sisters came down to spend a weekend with us, which was great to see them. Father’s Day passed; it was the first time not being able to spend Father’s Day with my dad in a long time. I attended a few online women’s conferences, which were a fun experience and very educational. I’ve grown to love conferences since I attended my first one last year. I wrote a post about my experience, and you can read about it here.
July
I cannot remember much about July. But one exciting thing that happened was that I had my first guest posts published! I’d reached out to a few Christian blogs to ask if I could be a guest contributor, and three of them said yes, so I ended up having three guest posts this month. This month would have been our honeymoon to Costa Rica, but, of course, that was canceled.
August
This was the most challenging month of this year. My grandfather passed away on the 10th. (Not due to COVID) That same week was my husband’s birthday on the 13th, and I had planned a birthday trip to Anna Maria Island, FL. We were debating on canceling the trip or not, but I’m glad we didn’t. I honestly needed the getaway. You can read about your trip here. I don’t particularly appreciate grieving, and I’m sure no one does, but this was and still is a hard loss for me because my grandfather lived with us since I was in high school. We were able to have a funeral service for him since his passing wasn’t COVID related and my family also had a service in the Dominican Republic. I was going to go but decided not to. Towards the end of this month, I got braces.
September
School had started again for my daughter, and I decided to keep her home and do online real-time with her teacher. THIS WAS HARD! I tried to juggle working from home and helping her with school independently, but I couldn’t do it. I asked my husband to help her out since he took a break from work. After a few weeks that the teachers finally had a routine down, they kept changing the schedule and trying new things every week; my daughter could navigate the computer on her own. Towards the end of the month, we took a road trip back home to Michigan. I was raised in Michigan, and my husband lived there for 15 years. His brother and his parents still live there. So, we drove to Atlanta to pick up his sister and then drove to Michigan. We stayed for two weeks and celebrated his mom’s birthday. I was able to see friends from high school, one I had not seen in six years! And it was nice to be back home for a little bit because usually when I visit, it’s just for a weekend.
October
My husband finished his Associate’s Degree, and I could not be prouder of him! It’s been a long time coming and a goal he’s had for years, and finally, he was able to finish. And right after, he started working on his bachelor’s degree. This month we took a trip to Destin, FL, to celebrate a friend’s birthday. This trip was a blast! We rented a boat and were out in the water the whole day, listening to music, dancing, and having a good time. I recommend Destin, FL; it’s beautiful and such an experience.
November
This month was a little rough and busy. First was our third dating anniversary for my husband and me; it landed on a Wednesday this year, so we didn’t plan much. We went out to eat at Seasons 52, which was delicious. During that same week, I had to go to the emergency room which was no fun. Then it was my grandfather’s first birthday since he passed away—another month where emotions were going everywhere. Thanksgiving was different this year, like for many of you. We took a road trip to Georgia. I had planned a little surprise graduation ceremony for my husband because his family was supposed to join us from Michigan, but they couldn’t come down. We still surprised him anyway, although it was a little bittersweet. Saturday after Thanksgiving was my daughter’s birthday, and we took the kids to the Georgia Aquarium. It was our second time visiting the Aquarium, and since they are limiting the capacity, we were able to see everything in less than two hours, which was great. This month I also finished my coding course and scheduled my exam for the beginning of December.
December
I could and couldn’t believe it’s December already. The year has felt long because of everything that has happened and all the emotions felt this year. It was an emotional year to say the least! I spent the last week of November and first week of December studying every day for my coding exam. I took it at home, it was a two-day process, but well worth it because I PASSED! I couldn’t believe it when I got the email, I started shaking, I almost cried, my husband couldn’t stop saying how proud he was of me, it was amazing. I attended my church’s growth group Christmas party and I’m so glad I did. We had done the group through Zoom all year and it was nice to see everyone in person, (there was only 7 of us, relax), LOL. Christmas was quiet this year, definitely different, but I’m thankful I was able to get together with my family. First Christmas without my grandfather and also there was a lot going on with the family. We are all ready to get 2020 over with in all honestly. New Year’s I’ll be spending it in Georgia with my husband’s family, but it will also be a quiet New Year’s.
Overall good things have happened this year, but it seems like the bad overweighs the good. I know this year has been challenging for EVERYONE, and everyone has been affected one way or another with something this year, in addition to the pandemic. Regardless of all that has happened, I lean on God and stand firm in my faith because I understand that everything happens for a reason, even if I don’t know why. I pray all of my readers and followers have a blessed and wonderful 2021!!! Thank you for your continuous support!
With Love,
Heidy