Final Thoughts on 2020

Ahhh 2020.  What a year!  For Christmas we were finally all home together--Jackson was back from his 2 month Hawaii adventure and Paige & Johnny and McKell came from Utah.  Licia and Matt and G& G Ogden came in person for the first time in over 9 months and we had successfully avoided Covid.   Little did we know Jackson was carrying that little virus around, and unfortunately our immediate family wasn't wearing masks around him through most of our outings together.  We're pretty sure our car ride to Flagstaff and back was prime time for us to spread that virus around.  First, it hit Jackson the day after Christmas, then Mike started having symptoms a day or so later and ironically got vaccinated that same afternoon.  (a few days late) The girls had already had Covid so they were immune.  Sydney and I went and got tested and both of our tests came back negative.  But a few days later I lost my sense of smell and got re-tested and I was positive.  Then Sydney lost her sense of smell and tested positive.  It really didn't affect me and Syd, but Jackson and especially Mike got really sick.  We were worried we might have to take him to the hospital.  He said it was the sickest he has ever been in his life.  He was out for a good 2 weeks.  For some reason, the virus really affected middle-aged men.  Our stake president almost died from it.  I was so worried that we had infected Licia and Matt or my mom and dad, but apparently, the masks really work because none of them ever got Covid.   

The hardest part of 2020 for me was the political and religious divide I felt among our extended families. Donald Trump, masks, Covid, Black Lives Matter, church history,  cancel culture, and isolation all played a part in the madness.  I couldn't believe how different we were all seeing the world and the problems that plagued us.  I realized without all of us agreeing on the same set of facts we were just spinning our wheels and getting nowhere.  Facebook became a cess pool and eventually I had to just bow out because discussions were so toxic and unhelpful.  I've always loved debating and arguing issues, but this year almost did me in.  Our extended family is so fractured right now and I don't know if we will ever be the same.  But one thing I still have is hope.  I will never let go of hope for better relationships, better understanding and peace.  




















 

Comments

  1. SusanJune 29, 2021 at 6:02 PM

    Love reading your posts and catching up with what's going on with your family. So sorry to hear you all ended up getting Covid! Oh my. We have been so lucky so far and no one has gotten it (hope that wasn't a jinx!); we are all finally vaccinated but still taking precautions (face masks, social distancing, etc). I hear the new variant is getting quite aggressive. Hard to believe tomorrow is the last day of June and half of 2021 will be over! We have been in puppy mode for the past 10 months and finally getting a glimpse of the end of the tunnel. Looking forward to getting out and doing more hikes and having more adventures in the next half of the year. Miss you guys!

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