2020 Year End Recap: Silver Linings
It goes without saying 2020 was a dumpster fire of a year both on a macro and micro level. We lost my Dad which was one of the hardest things I’ll probably ever experience during a once in a century pandemic that has killed close to 2M people globally.
Every year I write a little something to recap my year and try to focus on the positives. This year I’ve referred to these positives as “silver linings.”
*This post was originally written as a FB post recapping 2020.
It goes without saying 2020 was a dumpster fire of a year both on a macro and micro level. We lost my Dad which was one of the hardest things I’ll probably ever experience during a once in a century pandemic that has killed close to 2M people globally.
Every year I write a little something to recap my year and try to focus on the positives. This year I’ve referred to these positives as “silver linings.”
Silver Linings:
-Spending 3 months with my Dad before he passed:
My Dad was hospitalized right as the pandemic landed in the US (it was the night they canceled the first NBA games). We left for home thinking we might be there for a week. As the news intensified we made the decision to not return to NY indefinitely. This time proved to be invaluable as I got to spend it with my Dad (something that probably wouldn’t have happened without the pandemic).
-Family time:
Over the course of the year we’ve spent more time with our family than perhaps any year since childhood. We played games together, cooked together, drank together & supported each other. This extended to our neighbors who would stop and talk in the middle of the street. Time slowed down and we focused on the things that mattered.
-Exploring America & spending time in nature:
As it became clear NY wasn’t a good place to be during the pandemic we left our apartment and headed West. At the time we thought flying was just about the worst thing you could do so we rented a car for a 3 month road trip.
Our Route: NY (to pack up apartment) > Deleware (to pick up the car) > MD (prepare for the trip) > Pittsburg > Toledo Ohio > Chicago > Madison WI (stayed a week)> Luverne Minnesota> South Dakota (Badlands, Mount Rushmore) > Billings Montana (stayed for a week) > Glacier National Park > Missoula Montana (stayed for a week) > Idaho Falls > Yellowstone National Park > Grand Teton National Park > Salt Lake City > Zion National Park > Bryce Canyon > Capital Reef > Moab > Canyonlands > Arches > Durango Colorado > Mesa Verde National Park (cliff dwellings) > Santa Fe > Taos > Albuquerque > FL > MD> Savannah Georgia > FL
National Parks/ Monuments:
Badlands
Mount Rushmore
Glacier
Yellowstone
Grand Tetons
Zion
Bryce Canyon
Capitol Reef
Canyonlands
Arches
Mesa Verde
Bandelier
-Exploring other ways to live:
We went from living in Soho and never driving to living in dozens of airbnb’s in very different cities driving thousands of miles. Each state and city had their own unique flavor; from the laid back hipster vibes of Missoula to the South Western flavor of New Mexico.
-Remote work:
The ability to work from anywhere was what allowed us to live in so many places. While we technically could have done this before, the norms and expectations of being in an office were strong. The pandemic broke this expectation and I expect this to be a net positive for work life balance and lifestyle design.
-Becoming more self sufficient & new life skills:
I learned to cook! This might be a bit of an overstatement but at least I learned to make some signature dishes (Sweet Green Harvest Bowl, Quesadillas, Rosewater Belgian Waffles). I also became a lot more comfortable driving as I probably drove more in 3 months than I had during the duration of me and Shilpa’s relationship.
-Great TV:
We’re definitely in the golden era of television. Some of our favorites: Dark Season 3, Queen’s Gambit, The Boys, The end of the F***ing World, Indian Matchmaking, Umbrella Academy Season 2, Unorthodox, I am not Okay with this, Never Have I Ever, Miracle Workers, Love Craft Country, What We Do In the Shadows, Dave
-The end of the Trump Presidency:
Decency & Democracy won…but driving across the country was eye opening.
We made the best of a very difficult year. Looking forward to returning to normal life in the hopefully not too distant future.
Wishing everyone a healthy and fulfilling 2021!
