Another New Year's Eve! Like the rest of the year, it was a little different--we spent it at home, instead of up north--while a lot was the same. We watched movies (Endgame and Back to the Future), played games (Spoons, Uno, and Greedy Granny), and ate snacks until midnight (including guacamole, pumpkin bread, and pull-apart pizza rolls courtesy of Annie and Nellie).
I mom-forced everyone to pause the activity for a few minutes to reflect on the year. They obliged, and it ended up being a nice little conversation about all the highs and lows of the last twelve months. There was some debate about just how big a deal it was when Nellie broke her leg the second time (she thinks we're being over-dramatic about it. We think she might have some sort of amnesia.) But it was interesting to hear what people ages 4 to 40 will remember about the last year and what they're looking forward to in the next.
Mary Cate's favorite memory was "waking up a little bit early, a little bit late." The biggest challenge of the year was "trying not to cry at school." She's looking forward to being in kindergarten.
Eddie's favorite memory was Christmas, especially the surprise hoverboard. He says the hardest part of the year was "Covid" and he's most looking forward to his birthday or Easter in 2021.
One of DJ's highlights was when the Rays won Game 4 in the World Series, while his biggest challenge was starting online school "and we didn't know what to do." He's most looking forward to "Covid going away."
Annie had a hard time thinking about good memories, but she reflected on the "normal" times and how she got to play basketball with Upward and go to Willy Wonka in the winter. She remembers being stressed about online learning in the spring and being able to visit the people we love during the holidays. Since it's hard to know what we will be "allowed" to do next year, Annie doesn't know what to look forward to.
Nellie will remember Christmas and the opportunities we did have to see people. She'll remember "lots of laughter" over the last year. She's looking forward to new movies coming out and "being away from us eventually."
Kevin will fondly remember the time [3 minutes before] that he was crowned the Spoons king! The hardest part of the last year was sending Nellie into surgery in the oddly quiet hospital. He's most looking forward to getting a puppy.
My highlight for the year was our second trip to the U.P. I didn't want to make that drive alone for one day, but we did have a great time together that was good for the soul. My low point was the moment it dawned on me that yes, Nellie had just broken her leg again when she was supposed to be days away from healed. Like Annie, it's hard to know what to look forward to because it's impossible to imagine what the next year will even look like.
At my advanced age, though (I will be 40, after all), I know enough to know that the next year will hold hard things, beautiful things, and plenty of small and mundane moments that make up life in between. That will be true whether we're at home or school, vacationing or not, playing sports or not, spending time with family indoors or on hiking trails and in driveways. It's hard to say and hard to know, but 2021 might not be better than last year. Maybe it will. A year ago, I was looking forward to watching the kids learn and grow. I certainly got to do that! I am fine with not knowing what to look forward to this year. I think I'll know it as it happens.
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| Waiting for the ball to drop |
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| Midnight party! |
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| One sleeper |
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