It’s the last week of the longest year of our lives, and I don’t know about you guys but I’m sure looking forward to raising the largest drink – wait, make that a full bottle! – I can find on December 31st and bidding a final farewell to 2020. No matter what you do/did/planned on doing it’s been one hellofayear for us all with more twists and turns and “hey, let’s just walk upside down on our hands all day today to see what that does to my world!” than any of us could have imagined. Ever. Best if we put it quickly behind us right now and, well, carry on.
Except for one teensy, tiny little thing.
Many of us no longer even know what it means to ‘carry on.’ That’s right. If it has not already become obvious to you let me put it more bluntly.
Normal, as we once knew it, no longer exists, so don’t even look for it. Anywhere.
But – and stick with me on this journey – you can choose to hold your own personal never-ending mourning period for your ‘old normal’ OR – here’s the good news part – you can choose to simply release it like a butterfly with new wings and let it go, realizing as you do that it’s time to move on to blazing that new path toward whatever lies ahead. Mostly because, in case you haven’t already been hit on the head about this 2020 revelation, “reinvention” is the new buzzword for 2021 and beyond. Best if you allow yourself the grace to have your ‘ah-ha!’ moment this week then proceed to figure out what that looks like for you.
Continuing with the good news part, if your new calendar looks anything like mine you’ve probably got a few openings. Maybe even a whole twelve months of them. So I suggest you try to harness the power of the pause this week to think about what 2021 will look like for you.
As usual, I’m not without a few tips to get that process going, so here’s where I think we should all start:
- Release and let go of whatever didn’t work for you in the past – no matter how much you loved it – because you’re going to need to be thinking differently moving forward
- Clear space, both physically and mentally, for the potential of all good new things to come
In short, think of the road ahead as a blank canvas and use any colors you want to paint it yours.
I’m not naïve enough to tell you the sky’s the limit because we all know that at some point there are bound to be some dark low clouds on the horizon. But there’s nothing wrong with setting high intentions and enjoying those small steps it takes to get there. As mentioned above, give yourself the luxury of grace to get past 2020. Realize that no one has an accurate crystal ball but we are all searching for a happy ending.
Especially to 2020!
Terry's World Travels 
Happy New Year, Terry! Thank you for sending this great post. It just made me smile ~ any chance you did end up getting your wish for a Moet & Chandon truck in your driveway last night? 🙂
I love your recap of the upside down year we had in 2020 and truly appreciate your encouragement for the New Year ~ reinvention and painting blank canvases with our own colorful palettes. Boy isn’t that especially true and necessary for those of us in hospitality?
My year pivoted to caretaker for the family – supporting my homeschooling 5th grader as well as my husband’s mom who is on oxygen with advanced COPD. In late spring and early summer, we traveled twice in 3 months to Long Island to move her down here. We’d rented an RV, and with our 11-year-old and senior hound dog in tow, used it to serve as her medical transport, hotel and a moving truck to make the journey down as safe as we could. Also, with it having been the height of pandemic there in May and then here in July, we had to quarantine in both Florida and then again in New York. Unique adventure? Yes…. Would I do it again? A resounding no!
I do have a lot of hope now that the year is 2021. I was able to take on just two programs in the fall, and it was lovely seeing people onsite again. I am hopeful that meetings & events will slowly return to Orlando, but until then I’m going to focus on coloring in my canvas with french lessons and volunteering. I hope you are doing well, enjoying your writing and other hobbies as we hope for a time when travel is truly safe again. I may put a trip on the books, just to have somewhere great to look forward to exploring!
Wishing you all the best, and thank you for your humor and warm wishes ~ Jennifer
On Mon, Dec 28, 2020 at 5:06 PM Terry’s World Travels wrote:
> Terry Matthews-Lombardo posted: ” Searching for a peaceful ending to that > wild ride you took in 2020? This looks like a good road to follow. It’s the > last week of the longest year of our lives, and I don’t know about you guys > but I’m sure looking forward to raising the largest drink ” >
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Hi Jennifer, and Happy New Year to you, too! Thanks for reading and commenting. Sadly, that Moet truck never did find it’s way to Chez Lombardo, but I’m staying hopeful it’s just a little late in arriving! Loved your update, too, and yes, let’s all stay positive for better days ahead for our industry and all. Moi, aussi, j’etudiez francais, although I’m sure I just mangled that translation! A bientot!
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