2020 was my worst year ever, luckily
Thankfully, 2020 has been the worst year of my life. I say “thankfully” because nothing so terrible happened to me, and it’s still the worst. I’m healthy, my family is healthy, I’m working. What could I complain about?
Of course, 2020 is the worst year ever for a lot of us. The coronavirus has completely upended our way of life, and getting back to the way things used to be is very high on my 2021 to-do list.
But it’s been a slog, this year. Been a slog being stuck at home for months back in the spring, been a slog watching the coronavirus come roaring back in the fall.
There’s been fear, anxiety, misery, worry, and every other negative emotion ever created.
So yeah. Worst year ever.
Which means I should probably be expressing gobs and gobs of gratitude to the heavens above and the world below. For this to me my worst year - after 29* of them on Earth - then I must be one very lucky son-of-agun. (*49, but I’d rather not admit to that.)
Sure, there have been other years that weren’t stellar: 1984-1985 - my middle school years - were mostly friendless and lonely. They were bad, but at least I could ride my bike and play baseball without wearing a mask.
Another lousy year? Let’s put 2011 on the list, when a neurologist told my wife and I our second child, born that January, would probably never walk, talk, or feed herself. That was a bad year. (Spoiler alert: The neurologist was a moron. She’s 10 now, and she runs like … well, like a breeze. She won’t shut the hell up. And if she shovels any more mac and cheese into her mouth I fear she’ll turn into … well, someone who eats too much mac and cheese.)
So yeah. Those years weren’t great.
But apples to apples, this year was the worst. Not necessarily for what happened, but for what happened inside my mind. It was tough. Anxiety like I’ve never had before. Thankfully, as 2020 comes to a close, the vaccine brigade has arrived, and not only is there light at the end of the tunnel, it is close to blinding. Here’s to turning that calendar.