Oh, 2020. How many blog posts will be written about how glad we are to see you go. We all have such high hopes for 2021, although maybe those have been tempered somewhat as the pandemic drags on. For my four young kids, my hope has been that they would not remember the fears, the masks, the distancing, the cancelled plans, things being closed or off-limits. Fortunately for them, they were already living the stay at home life prior to any mandates or guidelines. They’ve not been subjected to Zoom calls or Covid tests or even much mask-wearing. Our 2020 photo books may be a little monotonous with the abundance of pics taken in our living room or backyard, but I doubt they’ll mind. When we reminisce about this year, here’s what I hope they remember:
The Trips We Did Get to Take
I had originally planned to travel about once a month this year. Sigh. But, my daughter did get to visit Disney’s Magic Kingdom for the first time just before her fourth birthday. We talk about it often and hope to “go back to the castle” again sometime. We did eventually get to visit Great Wolf Lodge, and they had a blast! I’m so glad we have one close by! After 10 months of waiting, we did get to travel out of state to see my parents. Maybe next year we’ll get to check off a few more travel adventures.
The Time We Spent Together
This is something that will continue to build over the next decade or more that we have them at home, but we’ve gotten some bonus time this year in particular. For one thing, my husband was laid off for three months from his manufacturing job. And while that was not stress-free by any means, it did allow for both parents to be home and available for our kids. Personally, it couldn’t have come at a better time, because I was getting really burnt out from doing supper, baths, and bedtime for four little people on my own most nights. That had been the routine for at least a year due to my husband’s 2nd shift schedule. So, in some ways, it felt like a vacation for me. I don’t think they’ll remember the extra time that Daddy was home, but maybe they’ll remember their bedtime routines fondly.
They’ve also grown in their relationships as siblings. They role-play together. They come up with ways to “work as a team” to accomplish their goals. I hope I never forget the image of my son lying down on the floor and his sister climbing on his back to reach popsicles in the freezer! They know each other’s favorite colors and shows and outfits. They have their own inside jokes and get uncontrollably silly playing the rhyming game they invented.
Milestones
We’ve had a lot of “firsts” this year. First broken bone. First lost tooth (for two kids). First time hunting Easter eggs and trick-or-treating. First night in a big girl bed. First time bowling and playing tennis. First ponytail. First flight. First trip to the pumpkin patch. First hot air balloon ride. Even in a pandemic, there are exciting new things to experience, especially when you’re still relatively new to the world. They’ve done so much growing and changing, and I’m privileged to have a front-row seat to it all.
Whatever the history books record about 2020, I hope these sweet memories remain for my kids (and for me) as this year fades into the next.
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