As we exited 2020, I think we all hoped we were leaving COVID slowly behind and were all entering a new chapter. Unfortunately, 2021 became an extended version of 2020. The extended worry about the future has continued and we still struggle with the uncertainty about when the impacts of COVID will lessen. However, as I sit here reflecting on 2021, I am still grateful and thankful for so many things. Yes, I do wish 2021 would have been little less like 2020. While it’s easy to point at what went wrong in 2021, I wanted to take a moment and remind myself about all the positive things I am thankful for.
I am thankful for all the medical workers and doctors, front line employees, and those who don’t have a choice but to go to work every day and make the best of it. I am thankful for everyone who works tirelessly to keep us safe and thankful for all our clients, friends, and family who stood by us in 2021.
While I am appreciative of so many people and things, I am most grateful for our communities. The news and social media will try to convince you we are all so different, but when I look around our communities, I see something different. I see neighbors reaching out to neighbors they never would have connected with before. I see individuals giving the shirts off their back to help others and non-profits popping up to fill the voids.
While the pandemic has brought a lot of chaos, uncertainty and grief, I do think we have forgotten the positive impacts it has made in our communities- especially when it comes to unity and leaning on each other. As we enter this holiday season, I ask all of us to look for this beauty within our own communities and ask ourselves how we can help our own neighbors. I am so thankful for the community we live in, and I look forward to giving back this holiday season.
Happy Holidays!
