It has been a strange year, 2020, even more than any other that came before. Our daily routines were turned upside down and things we took for granted dissipated right in front of our eye – all we thought we knew, well, we didn’t. ˝A new normal˝ has seen its dawn and brought with it mixed feelings, positives among negatives, highs and lows.
Here are my highs.
All of a sudden, life slowed down considerably making way for so many strings to be tied up, projects to be finished, things to be sorted through. It was a welcome shift from the packed and hectic every-day that usually are our lives. It made it possible for us to sleep a bit longer, cook a bit more, bake a lot more, spend more time together, and take long leisurely strolls around the neighbourhood.
The weather was fantastic for most of 2020 in the otherwise unpredictable Luxembourg. We dropped out winter coats for short sleeves mid-March and kept them on all through to September with very few and short interruptions. This enabled us to spend incredible amounts of time outside walking, riding bikes and scooters, doing school-work, relaxing, and even eating our meals. We absolutely loved it!
An initial feeling of unity and the will to change the world into a better place swept around the globe while swans returning to the canals of Venice filled the news and there were reports of a massive improvement in air quality around the globe due to reduced mobility. People turned to locally sourced goods, homemade food, and second-hand items; landing and exchanging became en vogue. It was heart-warming observing this shift in values and priorities, this coming back to basics; it showed that no matter what, there can always be change for the better.
As the announced two-week lockdown kept being extended, I joined the spring bake-craze; there was fresh-baked bread, nutella braid, cinnamon rolls, cakes. Sourdough and yeast abounded in the house. Many recipes were discovered anew and many others rediscovered. Emails, calls, and messages filled with advice and sourdough starter requests flew left and right, helping to build a tight-knit community in a time when people most needed it.
Then came gardening. Being a person utterly unable to make cacti survive for more then a few moths, I can’t really explain what spurred me to build a garden in the little concrete space in front of our garage. But I did. Throughout spring and summer, we had cherry tomatoes aplenty, kale, chard, herbs and spices, salad. Although, given my prior history with plants and the very limited space at my disposal it seemed very unlikely to be successful, I managed to grow a few zucchini and cucumbers as well, before the plants… well, died on me. However, everything else survived and made me incredibly proud of how far I’ve come as a horticulturist.
Also, as Marko started running regularly and lost a whopping 10kg, I felt peer-pressured into doing something with myself, as well. Alongside some popular videos, me and the children started exercising daily; adding to it an occasional bike ride en famille. It helped the adults to stay sane and the little ones to ease back into gym at school and after-school activities, once those resumed.
Speaking of activities resuming, they did. Only to go back online soon afterwards. Thus, for most of 2020 my children were dancing, jumping, practicing their katas and piano pieces in our living room. It gave me an unprecedented opportunity, after years of being kept in the dark, to see my babies’ progress in all of their hobbies. Observing Mia following her teacher’s directions about pliés and glisades or Jakob screaming obscure Japanese words while extending his arm and kicking into the air was slightly unsettling and utterly fascinating. Like gaining the slightest of peeks into my children’s secret lives.
With the beginning of nice weather matching the beginning of the stay-at-home orders, there was nothing more enjoyable to do than sitting in the sun with a book in my hands. Although I’ve always loved reading, in recent years adulting has taken precedence. Therefore, having time and the possibility to actually read book after book in a span of just a few months was highly appreciated. The Handmaid’s Tale, Mary Stuart’s biography, Elena Ferrante, a lot of Sophie Kinsella, a bit of Capote, a good chunk of Fitzgerald and some reading in my mother tongue kept me company while observing my children playing or splashing around in the pool.
In the end, we had a fantastic four-week, crowd-free summer holiday; there were no queues anywhere we went, be it a normally coveted tourist attraction or an ice-cream parlour, we had the beach all to ourselves and a lounge chair each, which rarely happens. We took hundreds of photos at Plitvice, usually crammed with people, that show empty passerelles, where usually tourists should be elbowing each other. It was a holiday we wouldn’t have chosen had we had more options but it turned out to be fun albeit different, maybe even exactly what we needed. Compiling an ample account of our summer is what kept me busy in October, right after we got back home.
Not entirely related to the pandemic itself but still a welcome change, was a new job and my new employers. After years of utter misery, something suited to my current need came my way, which makes me much happier, much calmer and by consequence, much better at it. It fulfils me much more, gives me a better work-life balance and the respect every employee craves.
Despite all the anguish of last year, there was also good, joyous and lovely. Here’s to more of that in the new year!