Scrawled across the top of my screen was the request, “What is one good thing that happened during 2020?”

It was a not-so-simple question that I happened upon during my daily bout of doom-scrolling newspaper headlines and self-help journals during the downtime at work.  As someone that had recently given up purposefully touting the concept of silver linings and positive thinking, every idea that passed through my mind felt either too superficial or like I was trying too hard.  This year, aptly named as a colloquial jargon for hindsight, was filled with emotional strife, the parting of friends, the loss of loved ones, and a bullet list of consequential events that makes all of the worst days of my life seem quite minor.

One good thing?

The question floated there – a spirit of what had come to pass.  Life has felt so meaningless the past several months, yet I still find myself drawn toward the resolve that persistence is a requirement for everything.  As if there is still meaning behind the masks of insecurity and doubt as long as I am willing to search hard enough.

I still find it difficult to believe, despite declaring it myself, but I have to choose the fact that for me, my one good thing is that I now consider myself to be lucky.

While it may not feel like it frequently enough and I can easily find something to complain about, this year was not all forsaken.  I am lucky for having notched a new job into my career almost entirely by luck.  If the company head had not taken the time to call me into his office only a day or two after I had handed in my two-week notice, I have no idea what state I would be in right now.  There is no way that I could have anticipated the pandemic and all of the bad that it brought.  By staying on in a new role, I was able to retain my healthcare and continue seeing a therapist.  From there, I was able to continue down the path of learning self-love (I’m still struggling to understand what that should even feel like) and work my way through some rather dire experiences that could have ended any number of bad ways.

There is so much more than just one good thing as well.  More than what happened directly to me, I am just lucky enough to have witnessed moments of joy for those in my life.

My father fell into the hobby of baking homemade sourdough bread and pastries like so many other people have during this period of isolation.  He has always been one to fill his free time with hobbies, so it shouldn’t seem all that new, but at one point he actually reached out to me to express his excitement about it.  I imagine him with flour powdering his face and hairline, his brows furrowed as he stands hunched over a hunk of dough waiting for it to rise.

My mother, who has started working from home, lingers nearby.  She no longer has to wake up at 4 AM to commute to her job, waiting in long lines of traffic only to return home and continue the repetitious chores of the day-to-day.  Instead, she has taken up residence in my old bedroom as her home office.  In my mind, the family dog is lazing nearby, only rousing herself from wherever she decided to sprawl whenever either of my parents get up to take care of whatever task they have self-imposed to stay busy.  She actually broke one of her legs trying to visit the neighbors’ terrier by hopping over a fence and is still recovering from the recent surgery.  From what I’ve been told, she has been properly pampered and has to be carried up and down the stairs by my poor father, flour in his hair, to visit my mother as she works.  He actually just had his 68^th birthday this past Wednesday, so I’m impressed by his everlasting vigor (something that I hope to inherit), and I am thankful that my parents are able to spend more time with each other.  Although, I’m sure that they are sick of whatever jokes they throw each other’s way by now.

Further from home, I have been struggling for a long time with the departure of close friends as they moved away to seek out better lives and lower costs of living.  God knows that Southern California’s biggest caveat has to be the rental prices.  I still miss their presence immensely, but we have found solace in virtual hangouts (sometimes even with webcams if we are feeling bold) as so many others have.  It was actually quite recently that I found myself in a watch party with two of them.  We enjoyed an hour of dishing jokes and sharing laughs as we watched contestants of The Bachelorette with dismay, chuckling the entire time.  I am hopeful that we will find ourselves in each other’s company again sooner rather than later.

The silver linings of this year are accompanied by silver hairs, yes.  It has been a time of mourning and worry, but it has also been a time for reflection and appreciation.  Throughout this journey there has been an uproar of civil rights focus, an increased recognition of mental health needs, and a hard-fought remembrance that the wellbeing of others matters just as much as your own. And we lucky few have made it thus far.  In so, the things that make me feel lucky goes well beyond that of my own horizon.

One of the brightest days of 2020 for me was actually on a gray, stormy day in November.  For weeks I had found myself stressed over the results of the close U.S. presidential election.  The words ‘despair’ and “probable civil war” were tossed around all too often in my close circles.  But it was on this cold day that I found myself driving in a deluge of rain, closely monitoring the local news stations, listening in as they made the announcement that the race had finally been called.  It wasn’t the result of the election that I find the most memorable though (although, I was honestly quite relieved).  Instead, it was the informal celebration that erupted around me.

I had thought that there was an imminent accident about to ensue on the slick highway, where visibility was quite poor and traffic was moving quickly.  Cars began to honk their horns, headlights were flashing, and the sound of cheering poured into the cabin of my truck over the radio.  I looked in at the drivers of the cars around me and saw smiles through watery windshields.  Legitimate, toothpaste commercial-worthy smiles.  It had felt like ages had passed since I’d seen someone openly grin without the obscuring of a mask.  I think that moment will stick with me forever.  The all too poetic memory of laughter and celebration over the radio, feelings of hope, momentarily forgetting the weight of the pandemic and life, and the happiness found in a rearview mirror that I could have easily missed.

One good thing.

I’m very lucky that I was there to witness these things and I think I want to stick around to see what else comes my way.  So, what would you say is one good thing that happened during 2020?

Stay safe, may God bless, and happy holidays from me to you, dear reader.

Onward.

P.S. One of my favorite end of year traditions is watching the Google Zeitgeist. Enjoy!