For those of you who follow me, you know that it has been quite awhile since I have posted. Call it pandemic fatigue, if you will. Perhaps it is laziness. Perhaps because I am afraid I have nothing to add to the dialogue that goes through your own head every day.
Nevertheless, here I am, at year’s end, with a message that is a blend of our Thanksgiving and holiday message. Forgive me if it is redundant to you, or will feel that way if you get our annual holiday newsletter. (Yes, we remain that dinosaur that will print and mail a hard copy newsletter this year, pandemic or not. Some habits just die hard, and it is a hard tradition to let die after 34 years.)
So here are my thoughts of the day, with thanks to Rabbi Ravski of Charleston’s Synagogue Emanu-el for introducing me to the concept of the ridiculous optimist during this year’s High Holy Days.
It would be easy to bemoan all the things we did not do during 2020. In fact, at this exact moment, Allan and I should be settling into our first-class seats headed towards a week-long birthday/ Chanukah celebration in Seattle with all of our children. But that is yet another trip this year that has been canceled.
Like most of you, since mid-March, we have turned inward and to technology, to make the most of what this year has brought. In that process, we have discovered the “ridiculous optimism” that Jim Henson brought to the Muppets and seek to find in our lives. We have so much to be grateful for in this year of 2020. For example,
- Communication with our friends and family has increased ten-fold, whether by phone, text, FaceTime or Zoom. Maybe we all try harder to stay in touch, and that, indeed is a very good thing.
- I have started consulting again, as a business development coach with my good friend and colleague Art Kuesel, Kuesel Consulting, one of Top 100 consultants in the public accounting field.
- We have maintained our physical and mental health, never straying from our dedicated fitness program. Though we both miss the camaraderie of the gym, we our grateful that our home has become our gym, complete with biweekly visits from our personal trainer.
- Our hobbies keep us busy, whether Allan’s expert-level Lego sets or my complex jigsaw puzzles, gardening, reading, or experimenting in the kitchen. I do not have the baking gene that my children do, but I have made some great pots of soup.
- Our weekly pet therapy visits with Emma to the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital came to an end in March. Volunteers are now back in the hospital, but Allan and I will not return until we can get a Covid vaccination. To fill the void of our hands-on voluntarism, which we loved, we have made a conscientious effort to be more charitable than ever, in deed (Angel Tree, food donations, school supplies, etc.), as well as monetary donations.
- And no offense to those who feel differently, but we sighed one giant sigh of relief once votes were tallied, certified, and the transition to the Biden-Harris administration began. Even typing these words reduce my anxiety. I look forward to Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, when the electors cast their ballots.
- In a moment of desperation, after an earlier trip was canceled, we ran away to our favorite haunt, the mountains of North Carolina, for three days, where we enjoyed cooler temps and lovely meals outdoors.
The reason we are most grateful of all, of course, is the fact that we have our health, we have each other, and our children are healthy, happy, in wonderful jobs, and in loving relations. So what more can we ask for? We hope that you, too, share our ridiculous optimism.
The Accidental Blank 