Jenn's “Not So” Quick Year-in-Review 2020
I’m struggling to find the words to capture this year. It started off so promising, I was killing it in my career, Amy had her first child: Gracie, Joel, and I were settling into the city and truly living a dream NYC life. I remember Dad coming to visit during winter (February) and just having a great time with him, watching him freeze at the dog park, and eating La Salle and Il Buco till our hearts were content. I can still see Joel, Jake, and I walking through Central Park, eating at Rezdora, and laughing during the Book of Mormon. I can feel us booking our bucket list trip to South America. I can recall the exact moment I got my new job offer and how thrilled I was for this new adventure in my career.
Then, in what seemed like a blink of an eye, the world stopped. COVID-19 was the only thing someone could think about, talk about, hear about. It was all-consuming. It locked us in our homes and it stripped Joel and I from everything we love about living life: great food, traveling to far-off places, exposing ourselves to new cultures, arts and customs. It was as if someone took a huge piece of me away. The first few months of the pandemic was brutal. I imagine it similar to living in a war zone. We were confined to our 700 sq ft apartment for 20+ hours a day, trying to make the best of it by walking Frasier outside as much as we could, and finding solace in one another.
Then the world finally reached a breaking point. In June, protests and riots broke out around the country. Racial injustice was brought to the forefront with the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. New York City had begun instilling curfews for the safety of its residents. Joel and I knew this way of living was not sustainable for us, especially when we both were still working full-time jobs and didn’t have the space or desks to do it. What once seemed like a dream to work from home in a thriving metropolitan city, became a nightmare. And the everyday reality of having two people figure out where to take calls (on a bed or small bistro table) was the opposite of picture-perfect.
So we moved. We moved back to a place that would give us some respite during such a turbulent time: Newport Beach. Praise God both of our companies and leaders were beyond supportive of this, which gave us the freedom and flexibility to find a temporary housing solution out of the city. I have to say being back in Newport Beach for the first couple of weeks were beyond painful. I was depressed. While I knew we would one day go back to New York, and this was only temporary, I felt like I left behind my dreams, and everything I had worked so hard for. But the move brought us closer to our families, and it gave us the space and peace to survive. Coming back felt like I had stepped into a completely different world, and it left me all the more confused and traumatized.
But after being mask-shamed a few times, and visiting the beach with Frasier and watching his complete joy as he ran into the waves, I started to feel better, and life found its new normal. Joel and I made the best of the situation (and I can’t underscore enough here how extremely lucky and fortunate we are during this pandemic), as we always do, and found new ways to love and enjoy each other’s company and appreciate the precious time we had together as a family. We even tried to take a road trip up to Napa as a romantic getaway, but in true 2020 style, that just wasn’t in our cards.
So we met with our families a lot, which was great because we had missed them so much while living in NYC. We hosted our first-ever Friendsgiving, and I spent another incredible weekend with my awesome Dad in San Diego going to the Zoo, having drinks, and spending really great quality father-daughter time together. Joel and I saved democracy (see my favorite memory), and decorated our apartment for Christmas. We spent every day at 3 PM playing with Frasier at the park, and each day I thoroughly enjoyed Joel’s mouth-watering cooking from Hello Fresh. I spent more time than I could dream of playing, cuddling, and loving Frasier. Our bond deepened more than I could ever imagine, and I wouldn’t trade that time for the world. And with Joel, day in and day out, he was my rock and center, he cried and laughed with me, he grounded me and kept me hopeful, and he made every day a blessing.
If there is one thing this year has taught me, is that the pain I felt, was in fact good pain, because it showed me what a great life I was living. It made me realize how important every day is, and that there are no guarantees what the next day or year will hold. It made me proud of everything I had achieved to date and that I was able to look back with no regrets.
I have no idea what 2021 will hold. I am learning to do a better job of trusting God and taking things one day at a time. All I can say is, when the world is ready to return to normal, I will be there waiting, and I will do everything I can to take every day on with all the vigor and passion I can muster.
JENN’S ANNUAL VIDEO
