2020 has been a challenging year for everyone! At this time of year, I am taking a moment to reflect on these challenges while remembering to be thank-FULL for all the wonderful things that are happening.
This year has been especially tough for me because I lost my Mom to pancreatic cancer after a very short and valiant fight last January. This time of year is especially tough because it was our tradition for her to visit every Thanksgiving. The pictures below are a few from our traditional Thanksgiving family photoshoot where my Mom was on point for taking our family photo. I am so glad that I have all of these pictures with her through the years – I strongly recommend this tradition to others. I was very blessed to have one of the best moms ever and am trying to hold the memories close right now.
My oldest son is graduating from University of Washington this spring in Computer Science. While it is not the final year that he had hoped for, he is doing great and is very fortunate to have accepted a full-time job with Amazon starting in Aug 2021. While I wish he could be closer, I am really looking forward to seeing him at Christmas this year!
My youngest son has shown amazing resilience in transitioning to a new school where he is excelling in a very demanding educational environment and has been able to make some virtual friends that I hope he will be able to spend time with soon. He is really enjoying being able to play tennis outdoors and very fortunate that Covid has not been as impactful for that sport as it has for many others.
My husband’s work is (what brought us to CA) is going great with the gaming industry being less impacted by Covid than most. We are embarking on an exciting home expansion that will give him the home office of his dreams which he will probably still be working out of full time for a few months given Covid situation.
Odin the dog has had some health challenges since we moved with October bringing over $2000 in emergency vet bills (thank you pet insurance, something I also highly recommend) for aspiration pneumonia and he has one more upcoming hurdle in December when he is going to get a nose job to help him breathe – hey, we do live in Orange county so guess someone had to get plastic surgery. On the positive, he has adjusted great to the California lifestyle and loves being able to have more time outside even in November when the picture below was taken.
I am thankful that 2020 has given us the time to slow down a bit and focus more on family and believe that we will come out of this health crisis strong and better than we were before. I am really enjoying writing this blog and thankful for all the support everyone has given me by checking it out!
Although there are lots of challenges keeping us apart right now, I hope that you find a way to stay connected to those you love during this holidays and I want to wish you and your family health, happiness and extra mashed potatoes or whatever it is that makes your Thanksgiving tummy sing!