Dear 2020,

What can we say to you?

As we look over our shoulders at the past year, we can agree it has definitely been one to remember, or maybe forget. Our worlds were turned upside down, and suddenly our collective “normal” was anything but. A potentially deadly and little-understood virus led to masks, quarantines, isolations and fear. Graduations, holidays, vacations, and weddings were replanned, then planned again. Stores shuttered, people passed quickly without speaking, while children’s sports and schools were put on hold, re-imagined, or cancelled altogether.

We literally lost touch, in every way imaginable.

2020, you were the monkey wrench to our gears; the sand in our well-oiled machine. You were a challenge for everyone, and one from which learned a lot about ourselves.

One thing is certain: We made it through. Medical staff continued to help the sick, businesses found new ways to succeed, families adjusted to enjoy lives together, and schools re-thought their classrooms. As Rosie the Riveter loudly proclaimed during World War 2: “WE CAN!”. And we did. When called upon, we will do it again. We were positive in the present and believed in a great future. As my Grandpa Carter, the Iwo Jima beach-storming Marine used to say: “CAN-DO beats BOO-HOO every time”. 

There is a very real, palpable effect to the power of positive thinking on the human spirit. It offers a clarity in planning and hope for the future, which is a power that negative thinking simply cannot match.

2020, I know what to say to you: Thank you. Thank you for testing us. Thank you for challenging us. Thank you for reminding us of our fighting spirit, our will to survive, our will to overcome while coming together to achieve a common goal. The human spirit is undefeated. We adapt, we learn… we win. No, I don’t want to forget you, 2020. I want to remember what you taught us as we undoubtedly face future challenges in this year and beyond.

Onward, Upward, Higher and Higher-

Cory Mounts