Today is 31st Dec 2020 - the new years eve. What can be said of 2020 - It is the year which whoever is alive on the planet earth will not forget, a year that almost slipped by, for most of the people stayed at home. It is a year which brought out different perspective in people, which brought out new meanings of life, new ways of living, new avenues were explored, new normal was defined.
It is a year missed.
A year where we missed physically meeting people, and when met, was at a distance and with a half covered face(masks on!). Children missed school, friends missed hanging out, no meetings outside family, no dinner invitations, no eating out and the list goes on.. many people lost lives, many lost dear ones, many are battling for their lives, and many recovered. And many like me stayed at home for major part of the year. It was like sand slipping through the fingers.
It was a year of unpredictability
A year which made us realise that whatever you have planned for the year can go terribly wrong, your goals unachievable and everything can become topsy-turvy. It was a year where the meaning of saying that man proposes and God disposes got reinforced. It was year where organizations relooked at options to work remotely and work from home became the new norm. Many people lost jobs, many had salary-cuts. Many so called strong organisations and entities shut shop or just striving through.
It was a year of blessing!
For me personally, despite the world suffering and the restrictions, this was a blessing in disguise. Let me explain : I discovered I was pregnant with my second child on 27th January 2020. The lockdown started end of March and since then, my husband has been mostly working from home till and after the birth of my daughter in August. My elder daughter's school was closed from March and she was at home and has been taking classes online since then. I don't know how I would have managed my pregnancy if I had to drop and pick my daughter to school and my husband had to go to office.
It was a year of panic, of desperation ,of helplessness!
My in-laws tested positive mid of september 2020. I could witness the helplessness, the anguish, the turmoil that my husband faced, since both his parents, who have comorbidities, were suffering far away from him and he could not be physically present there with them. He was in dilemma whether he should go there to help them, or stay back, since if he gets infected, there would not be anyone there at my in-laws place to take care of him, and if he were to return back, he would be exposing the new born and us to infection. It was tough, a very tough call to take. Thankfully, they recovered.
It was a year of gratitude
Grateful that we are able to sustain, that we have food at our table and roof over our heads. Grateful to have a family, for friends, for well wishers, for friends who are like family. Grateful to be able to afford good medical care and other comforts. Grateful for life overall.
It was a year of self reliance, aatmanirbharata.
I finally understood my strengths, that I could go on even with physical constraints. We stopped our domestic help and our cook from end of March. I was managing the house, cooking three times, taking care of my 3 year old, managing all the housework inspite of being pregnant, which I managed to do till the eve of my admission to the hospital. I got admitted on 21st August morning, after having contractions most of the previous night. And we were back from the hospital on the day 3 of admission, with the baby. After 15 days downtime, I was able to manage the house again, with a lot of help from my family. I did not visit a beauty parlor and my husband did not visit a salon even for a haircut. I started giving him hair cuts at home and with practice, now I can say that I do a decent job. I also realized, I can be emotionally strong and can think with my head during stressful situations.
It was a year of extended family time
With work from home and online classes, the line between school/office and home has become thinner resulting in great family time. We had great fun during festivals, dressed up, had home cooked delicacies, many of which were made for the first time by me, had balcony dinners, overall had a great family time.
This was the year when my little munchkin grew-up overnight
From being the one and only apple of our eyes, she became a elder sister overnight. I feel proud to see how she has coped up with the situation and the divided and reduced attention which she started getting after the baby. She has showed that she is a storehouse of love by being the loving elder sister. She was expected to understand, help and share, which she is doing Proud of her.
It was a year where I rediscovered my creative side
Though I had started my YouTube channel somewhere in 2019, I was not very active and was sporadic in posting videos. With the lockdown and self-imposed stay at home and with husband working from home, I was able to shoot and post videos fairly regularly, in spite of being pregnant and with the housework. This came with the realization, that I enjoyed doing this, which I intend to continue in the coming year.
It was a year where I did zero shopping for myself.
I was a impulsive shopper. I am not a shopaholic, but I have occasions where I splurge without thinking, I shop when I am bored. This year, with restricted stepping out of the house and due to pregnancy, I did not buy any clothes at all. I managed with my old nighties and oversized t-shirts. I recollect, during my first pregnancy, I wanted everything new during pregnancy and after the baby. But this time, I reused my elder daughters clothes which I had kept as keepsakes for my younger one. I also did the bare minimum shopping(online) for the new baby. All the experience gained during the first baby came in handy and I was glad that I am able to maintain the minimalism which I had wanted to in beginning of the year.
It was a year where we ate very less of outside food
Except for the past two months, we have had not ordered in or dined out at all in this year. I tried out different dishes at home and all of us enjoyed it.
It was a year that we realized that we need very less to sustain
Our tenant vacated the flat we had rented out by end of October and we started living in the flat with bare minimum just to enjoy our flat, in which we had never lived. We rented in basic furniture, carried most essential utensils and a gas stove and a few pairs of clothes to the flat. And we are doing just great. We are totally in love with the minimalistic life. I am cleaning utensils by hand, hand washing clothes and are continuing having great home cooked food. This has made us realize how much of material things we have accumulated over years, which we don't need. We realized that less is enough, that less is more and that less is easy maintenance. One of my goals of 2021 would be to declutter and donate many of the things which we can do away with.
It was a year where I made peace with negativity around me.
I am a very emotional person. Someone else's behavior affects me adversely and I show the effect on my loved ones by being, moody, angry, sad or sulky. This year, I have realized how I am negatively affecting my daughter and husband because of my behavior. Now I have learnt to ignore the negativity around me and get on with life.
So with a very positive outlook, I look forward to the new year. I hope and wish that year 2021 brings in good tidings along with the vaccine and we shall continue the good lessons learnt this year.
Wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year 2021!
