Goodbye, 2020; Hello, 2021

This year, we are trying something new, and Squatch and I have each chosen a word to focus on for ourselves, and once for the family. For Squatch: DISCIPLINE; For the Family: TOGETHER; For Myself: DIVE. Read along to see why we have chosen TOGETHER for our family, and DIVE for myself.

2020 was difficult in many ways. Little Man and I spent most of the year apart from Squatch. It started back in March, when our two week visit with my parents in Illinois was stretched out to 7 weeks, due to COVID, the beginning stages of lockdowns, and a lot of general uncertainty in what was going on, and how bad the virus truly was. We reunited at the end of April, and were together until mid-July, when Little Man and I drove down to Illinois for what was supposed to be a 2 week visit, but ended up being 3, due to a death in the family. Less than 2 weeks later, Little Man and I packed up, and we came back down south again, and have been here ever since.

It is difficult being apart from your loved ones. We do weekly video calls on Sunday mornings, and try to fit an additional one or two throughout the week, but with all the OT Squatch has been working, it’s been difficult to get more than one. I am so thankful for modern technology; with the video calls and being able to text back and forth throughout the day. It has made the separation easier, but it has still been difficult.

Little Man needs his Daddy. I need my husband. This past week has been especially hard, as Little Man keeps asking for Daddy to help put on his slippers, or change his butt, or fix a broken toy. I need to be able to curl up on the couch with My Man, and just be the two of us. I want to see Little Man run up to his Daddy as he walks in the door, looking for a hug and toss in the air.

We need to be a family, the three of us, TOGETHER. So, for 2021, that is our goal. We have a plan to be back together, on our own, ASAP. Squatch is still looking for work, as am I. Wherever we find work will determine where we settle. We do have a few places in mind, areas where we would prefer to be, so they are the starting points for the job search.

My word for 2021 is DIVE. It took some time to decide on dive. My initial decision was JUMP; you will recall my blog post on JUMP last summer. I thought back to my thoughts and feelings as I wrote this post, based on a suggestion from Nicole Sauce. I remember feeling hopeful and excited, something I don’t currently feel. As I kept thinking, I realized JUMP is not what I want; it’s part of the way there, but not it. When I thought about it, I started thinking about alternatives to JUMP, and I went to LEAP. Did I want to LEAP into the new year? No, I want to make a splash. LEAP-ing will not allow that splash. Yes, JUMP-ing can result in a splash, but JUMP is not the correct word for me.

The more I thought, the more I dug deep. Yes, I want to jump, but more accurately, I want to DIVE. I want to DIVE into my side hustle I tried to start last spring. That entails diving into research and getting up to date on parliamentary procedure; diving into the world of being a small business owner; diving into uncomfortable waters and uncharted territory as I make it known that I have this business and am looking to onboard clients. I want to DIVE into our new life TOGETHER as a family; DIVE into learning more about gardening and growing the food that my family eats (and hopefully having enough left over that we can sell it for some additional income); DIVE into meeting people and making new friends (as much as these stupid COVID restrictions will allow). I don’t just want to dip my toe into the waters, I want to go both feet first, and really get into everything.

So, what is your word for 2021?