dianaschnuth

We’ve all spent the past year living through a global pandemic that’s destined to be at least a footnote in the history books. It’s upended everyone’s sense of normalcy, changed social interactions, wreaked havoc on some sectors of the economy, and cost many their jobs or their lives.

My family has been lucky: our jobs are stable, we’re all healthy, and COVID-19 mainly just means an upheaval to our routines. I’ve been working from home, Connor finished out second grade from home and started third grade with a hybrid of remote and in-person learning, and Aaron spent most of the year working longer hours and adjusting to having us at home during the week.

Even though 2020 was a Very Different Year Indeed, I still kept track of most of the things I usually do, and I certainly couldn’t leave this bizarre year undocumented.

Stuff That Happened

• Connor learned to roller skate without assistance
• I got my very own weighted punching bag for my birthday
• I grew zucchini for the first time
• My FitBit died and I bought an Apple Watch
• I raised some Monarch butterflies from eggs and some from caterpillars
• I had gum surgery to graft additional tissue onto my front lower gums
• Connor and his BFF coordinated their Halloween costumes as Inklings (from the game Splatoon)
• I planted some Crocus sativus corms and harvested my very own saffron
• Imagination Station opened for a Members Only Preview of their new theater (family selfie above)

Stuff That Was Cancelled Due To COVID-19

• Spring Break in Mexico
  We still have a credit with our airline for the amount of our vacation package.
• Summer Day Camps for Connor
  Imagination Station still had some in-person camps in July, and Cub Day Camp was held virtually, with a socially-distanced in-person self-guided camp tour in the summer and a shooting sports day in October.
• In-person Karate and Krav Maga classes
  Connor and I both attended our martial arts classes virtually through the second quarter of 2020. We both earned our respective belts, though, although his green belt and my purple belt are both bereft of the black stripes we’d normally earn during the quarter.
• Karate Sleepovers and monthly Parents’ Night Out
  Connor’s karate dojo usually hosts a party for the kids one Friday a month, to give the parents an evening off and to give the kids a chance to socialize and have fun. Not in the cards this year.
• Independence Day Fireworks
  Connor only got to see his first fireworks display in 2019, so the cancellation of fireworks in 2020 was disappointing.
• Birthday Parties
  Connor, of course, did not get invited to any birthday parties after COVID hit, and his own party was an intimate gathering of family and close friends at our home.
• Holiday Gatherings
  My mom moved back north from Florida this spring (before the pandemic went ballistic there), but we cancelled our gatherings for Thanksgiving and Christmas out of an abundance of caution.

Home Repairs

Every year, our home or appliances within need some sort of money thrown at them, and 2020 was no exception.

Our dishwasher’s motor gave up the ghost in early April, and we were stuck handwashing our dishes until appliance repair companies resumed regular business in May.

In June, our dryer was consistently running hot, so we got our dryer vent cleaned. All told, two appliance repairs for the year and no major issues with the house is a pretty positive thing.

Health

At the end of March, restaurants and bars in Ohio closed due to the pandemic. That helped us realize the gravity of the situation, even more so than Connor’s school declaring an extended Spring Break.

One would think that more meals at home would equate to healthier meals, and a stable weight… except that some restaurants then expanded their takeout options. We would normally only order out on Fridays, for our traditional Fun Friday pizza, but during the pandemic, we began ordering delivery much more often.

My weight remained stable, for the most part, until the change of seasons in the fall. Considering that my routine was completely upended (see WFH calendar below, using data I recorded in Exist), it could have been a lot worse.

I gave up on tracking my food in the WW app at some point; I’ve been following the plan for so long that things didn’t go sideways right away, though.

One silver lining of working from home during spring and summer was that I could get outside over my lunch break and do some gardening in the sunshine. I feel like that was a much-needed boost to my mental health.

Hobbies

Number of rolls of film processed in 2020: ZERO. Not surprising, since I usually bring film cameras on trips or outings, and those were majorly absent this year. I prefer to send my film to be developed in batches, so my roll from December 2019 languished all year, waiting for some company. It wasn’t until Connor bought a 35mm camera for 50¢ at a garage sale that I had another roll to send along with it.

2020 Overall

Some people have declared 2020 a dumpster fire of a year. For us — well, for me, anyway — it was weird, but not horrible. Not super stressful, apart from the constant concern for the health of our friends and loved ones. Boring, disappointing, even infuriating at times, pushing us way out of our comfort zones… but I chose to take comfort in the fact that literally the entire world was dealing with Coronavirus at the same time.

What a strange year. I wonder what 2021 will bring?