OT - Was 2020 ALL bad?

Nothing is ever all bad. But then 2020 challenged that adage for all it was worth. From pandemic to civil unrest (we'll consider early January 2021 to be honorary 2020) I never want to repeat it.

Glad you were able to make it work for you and your family. It is a testimony to the values you live your life by.

First, you're children are absolutely adorable. 

Second, similar feedback here. Spending time with my 6 year old son over the past 9 months has been amazing. 

Mentioned this before, but I got my ADHD diagnosis, got on meds and coaching, went crazy with the lifestyle changes (exercise, staying active in general, gave up Facebook, gave up alcohol) lost 50ish pounds and can run a 10k in <1 hour. My goal for 2021 is to start my master's in English Lit. Maybe go into editing, or into education. Looking at online programs, but I'm hoping with the pandemic there will be a ton more options soon.

Interest rates are at all time lows, did a great Refi on my home. Didn’t touch the equity, just took 5 years off and lowered the interest rate. My debt dropped and my credit score rose.

I got paid more by the state for five weeks than I would have by my boss. 

But then, my more "essential" colleagues now are jealous of this, so it was a mixed bag.

I had a great year! Best year of the decade so far! 

My son was born in September healthy and happy!

Got to spend more time with my daughters and get more involved in following with their day-to-day schooling as they zoom-schooled.  

Well I was in Italy in January and February. That was nice...

Edit: sorry double post

The notion that something is all bad or all good doesn’t pass the smell test. Yeah, Covid-19 sucked ( and will continue to suck), but the global cooperation and vast R&D efforts in 2020 will create profound advances in medicine in the coming years. Pent up social forces broke through and quantum change in how we conduct business emerged, which was good for some and bad for others. 

I suppose it was a good year if you are a Bama fan, though

Cute kiddos and picture.  

No, 2020 wasn't all bad but the compounded issues vastly outweighed the good.  But the good was also on the extreme for us.  We ended moving back "home."  It is not home for either my wife or I but it is for our kids and it feels like home for us both now.  Spending a lot of time with the kids was great.  Allowing them the ability to spend time with their grandparents was special and hopefully something they don't forget.  On a more selfish note, my job vastly improved in 2020.  

Great question and thank you for bringing something positive to the board today. 

With anything there can be good and bad associated with the a situation. For me, the idea of working from home became a reality not just now but maybe part time for the rest of my career. That has made a huge difference in my work/life balance which has brought me great joy. I cook healthier and more often. I spend more time with my kids. It's not that I'm taking away from work time, it's that I don't have an hour worth of commute 5 days a week. I am very thankful for this as prior to 2020 my employer would not have consider it viable.

The counter balance is many people have lost their jobs and I feel for them and their families. The front-line workers have been stressed to their limit and I pray for them to get through this safely. So while I'm happy for my personal situation, I also recognize that is not true for everyone.

Got to spend a lot more time with my dog which was a bright spot for me. It's amazing how the love of a pet can seem to make troubles go away. 

Also set up a temporary office under the pergola in my back yard. Just working with the sounds of birds, the garden in the background, etc. was something special. So no, it wasn't all bad.

Thanks for the post and the perspective.

Main "good" for me is the working from home. We were allowed a day or 2 already, but local management hated it and always made things way more difficult than they needed to be. Being forced in to it has changed the game and now everyone is wondering why we even need an office. Being home really helps the work like balance of juggling kids, sports, etc. Also, we have saved a ton of money this year by not paying for after school care and other me not being home expenses. 

I'd still prob trade it to be able to go to a decent restaurant or have some beers at a bar, but that is one positive in this mess. 

Thank you for the post.  Your children are beautiful.  Good work.

I anticipate a great deal of growth in how we conduct business happened as a result of necessity that will benefit us going forward.  That is exciting to see how it translates. My 6 and14 year old were able to get in their football seasons. I love watching them and coaching them.  I do not know anyone personally that was very ill or died as a result of COVID, for which I am thankful.  We were able to take the family to Disney World in February, pre-COVID, so my then five year old could experience that magic.  He loved it more than the older kids did at that age.  I have a job and our health.  I am blessed, for sure.

Again, thank you for the reminder to stop and focus on the good.  Go Blue!

Refinanced my house, took on a few big projects as well as painted almost every room.  Spent time with my wife and kids that I normally wouldn't have.  Realized that I seem to be in the minority of people that actually like being at their house with their family.  Ate a lot of great food from local restaurants that I otherwise wouldn't have known existed.  Helped some people out that were in need creating stronger bonds with family and friends.  Spent more time outside than I have since I was not an adult.  

If you put the positive aspects in a box, you would think 2020 was a great year.  I (as well as many others I assume) was able to distance myself from the division that has happened amongst our fellow Americans.  2020 was weird but not all bad comes from weird.

Was 2020 ALL bad?

Nope, there were definitely bright spots.  I got married.  My brother got married and had his first child.  I appreciate focusing on the positives.  I do this daily.  2020 was undeniably shitty though.  I can't remember a more stressful year.  I think it goes along with focusing on the positives to also recognize things as they are.  You must accept things as they are before you can let go of your frustration about them and try to change things that probably cannot be changed.  I can't go back have 130 guests at my wedding.  I'm a teacher and can't get all my students in school at the same time which means I can't teach the way I think is best for my students.  I can't change UM's 2-4 record last year.  I can't throw a party on my birthday.  I can't walk into a store without masking up.  These are all frustrating facts of life and without acceptance they will continue to frustrate us.  So, let's celebrate the good, but let's also accept the state of reality so we can make the best of it instead of trying to beat ourselves up about not being able to do some of the things we want to.

Yeah, 2020 was awful in lots of ways but, for example, I was really happy to be able to spend as much time as I have with my kids.  They're still pretty young and with commuting and all I usually only saw them in the morning as I took them to school and sometimes later at night, but rarely as much time as I would have liked.  So that was a positive.  And I was able to jump-start a change at my job because the pandemic sort of forced the hands of some people, so in a way that was a positive that might not have occurred.

But I also understand why a lot of people had way worse experiences and how 2020 is unlikely to be viewed favorably.

Our son (and first child overall) was born in July. He’s completely healthy and developing at a normal rate. That all immediately made the entire year worth it.

Beyond that, neither my wife nor I lost our jobs. We didn’t have to take pay cuts, and I got sixteen weeks of fully paid time off to be with him. Time that I am still using until April with working on a part time basis. Happy that I’ve worked for a company that recognizes the importance of work-life balance. 

Yes, there were most definitely things that we wanted to do last year but couldn’t, and my job has drastically changed, but in the grand scheme of things, I really can’t complain.

Honestly, I personally had a great year.  Got to work remotely full time.  Was never out of work. Got a bunch of stimulus cash, and got to spend way more time around my family.  I feel horrible about what's happened and continues to happen, but on a personal level, it was a great year for me.

My wife finally agreed to see a counselor about her debilitating anxiety

Honestly that pic made my day - so cute! Thanks for sharing. Nice to remember the good sides of life, even in tough times.

The best thing about 2020 was that I became a full time tele-worker.  At first I missed the office, but now I'm hoping that they never make me go back.  

I had a pretty good year. My employer gave out a bigger bonus than the last 3 years combined. Got another week of vacation and raises will be coming shortly. I went a whole year with out dipping (Stopped in December 2019). Currently down 30 lbs from Halloween as well. I also had no one personally affected by COVID. It was a really good year but i know a majority of people were not this fortunate. 

Adorable kids Canzior.

I was not able to sit home in 2020 as I run a manufacturing plant and without people onsite we are out of business.  That being said 2020 was the most stressful year of my 30+ year career...with dread and fear in early Spring not knowing how contagious or deadly Coronavirus was and having to go to work everyday.  Seeing reports of people my age in public jobs dying in metro Detroit did nothing for my morale not to mention the extreme fear in our factory employees who also were afraid to come to work.  I want to hand out medals to all of them.

Many of our suppliers turned off their lights and we had to scramble for raw materials to continue production for customers who also were working out of their homes but expected their orders to be filled.

Manpower was, and continues to be, a problem as our workers didn't want to be at work out of fear.  Later they wanted to be laid off to receive the state + federal unemployment checks which were close to their wages.  Not an option for us because no people means no production.

We were blessed to stay in business unlike many companies who went bankrupt last year...and I'm grateful I have a job and didn't have to lay anyone off.  That being said I'm under constant stress to keep the business functional as there continues to be problems with manpower and the supply chain due to the pandemic impact and unemployment wages competing with employers who struggle to find workers to fill rolls even in general labor positions.

For 2021, in addition to these problems, we're seeing large upticks in costs for raw materials which we haven't seen since 2008 putting stress on our profits due to the resistance of customers to pass along these costs.  

So there were bright spots in 2020 but not very many.  Hoping for a better year in 2021 but so far it's still more of the same with inflationary worries now part of the mix.

Sure, many have made the best of a bad situation. Good for you-all. Compared to 2019; 2020 was horrible. Will 2021 even resemble what was in 2019? I hope so but it is difficult to be "bullish".

Cute kids!

Overall, I try to put a positive spin on things anyway, and 2020 was no different.  What helps is that I'm fiercely apolitical, almost never watch any main stream media, and I don't have any social media.  My wife is pretty much the same, except she has some social media stuff.  This alone really helped me concentrate on what's important in life, in that my family and friends and healthy and safe.

With that, the civil unrest over the summer that was really bad in Chicago (where I live) forced me to think about the pros and cons of living in an urban life with children.  In short, I've become more vigilant and proactive about where I live and will be moving to a safer location.  Something I should have probably done awhile ago, and 2020 pushed me to do so.