Well shit. I feel like I could actually end this blog right after that first sentence and everyone would be like, “Yep.” 2020 has been the most challenging year. So, while reflecting on 2020 is not something that makes me super happy, I think it is more important now than ever before. Reflection allows you to celebrate every little success and grow from past experiences to learn for the future. Which is why, as every year comes to a close, I do my best to reflect back on the good, the ugly, and all of the in between.
2020 started with big plans and even bigger ideas. In February we took our best friends on their first backpacking trip to Havasupai. Brad had proposed in early 2019 so in addition to planning our normal trips for 2020, we were planning a wedding. Specifically, we were each planning a trip for our bachelor/bachelorette parties in March, an Elopement in Yosemite National Park in June, a massive celebration party back in New York with all of our family and friends in September, and an epic Honeymoon in December. Sprinkled in between these trips, were some smaller weekend trips to see family: in April, we had all planned on meeting in Georgia to celebrate my Pop Pop turning 91! Mind you, none of this actually happened.
No bachelorette party. No visiting family. No grand elopement in Yosemite. No celebrating our marriage with our family and friends in New York. No honeymoon. Honestly, this list could go on forever. Trips that we had to cancel, plans that we had to postpone, family that we haven’t seen in over a year now. But, with all the “cancellations” and broken plans, comes a burst of light in the darkness.
We managed to pull off the most beautiful elopement with our immediate family in Flagstaff, vowing to love each other through all of the ups and downs (very fitting for eloping during a global pandemic). My best friend gave birth to the most precious, healthy baby girl making me the proudest auntie in the world. I took another step forward in my wellness journey and joined a health and wellness accountability group.
We learned to slow down. We learned to make sacrifices to help the greater good. We learned that we inherently have privileges in our lives and in order to be an ally to those that do not, we need to use our voices to speak up. We learned that while we’ve loved our time in Arizona, we would love living closer to some family, which is why we’ve decided to make the move to Colorado once our current lease is up.
So much negativity and cracks in the foundation were brought to light in 2020, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot look to 2021 with hopeful and bright eyes. As 2020 comes to a close, celebrate every little success and grow from your past experiences to learn for the future.
Yours,
Gabrielle
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