It's the last day of 2020! Despite the insanity of this year, I still think there were plenty of positive moments in the last 12 months that I am so happy that I had the chance to experience. I think it's always good to look back and appreciate the positive moments of each year, and when I think of 2020 in the future, I hope I'll remember all of the wonderful memories that came along with the curveballs that this year has thrown at us. Here are some of my favorite moments of this wild and crazy year! 💜
January
The first month of the year was the peak of my Rock n' Roll New Orleans training! This was really the only "normal" month out of the year for me, where I spent my weeks working at the office, going to the gym, running, coming home and cooking dinner... rinse & repeat! No major trips or major world events directly impacting my day to day life, just a normal gal training for a marathon. It's so crazy to think that the 20 mile run posted above was this year (January 11th)!
February
March
The first half of March and the second half of March were polar opposites! COVID-19 was starting to spread around the US, major events were getting cancelled left and right, and the world as we knew it was changing so rapidly. Brett and I had a trip to LA planned for early March to visit family and for me to run the LA Marathon. Similar to February's travel, I feel SO lucky that we were able to take this trip. I'm still kind of shocked that the marathon still went off, but I am so thankful that it did and we were still able to safely travel to California and spend time with some of our favorite people.
The week after we returned from our trip was the start of quarantine. March 16th was my first day working from home, and I haven't been back to the office since. So strange!
April
The biggest moment of April was
moving into our new place! Brett and I had been waiting years to finally be able to move into our own place, and in April of this year we were able to do it. We weren't expecting to be moving during a global pandemic, but when the time is right, the time is right! We absolutely love our apartment and this will always be considered a highlight of 2020 for me.
May
I can't think of May 2020 and not think of
BIRTHDAY MONTH! I turned 30 this year - a major milestone birthday - and before we entered into a pandemic Brett and I had dreams of maybe going to NYC for the weekend and seeing a show, or maybe even going to a concert to celebrate the big 3-0. Needless to day, quarantine kind of threw a wrench into that plan. Brett was incredible, though, and coordinated an entire month of celebration, featuring a new gift every single day of the month of May. I am still in awe of the outpouring of love I received from so many wonderful people during the month of May, and I'll never forget it!
June
June was a tough month for the United States. With the rekindling of the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the death of George Floyd, I focused a lot of my attention to
my own racial justice education and anti-racism action. Of course, that is extremely heavy work, and it can be tough to find the silver linings when you're taking on social justice work. However, this was really the month where BibRave really became a community of folks I could rely on to have honest discussions about the world around us and our role as ambassadors to the running community. Other running organizations that I was a part of earlier this year really fell short in stepping up to the plate of confronting racial injustices, but BibRave showed that this was an important issue as a company and as a community, and because of that I am
truly proud to wear my BibRave Orange. So glad that this was also the month that I attended the virtual BibRave Pro Summit and ran my first race as a BibRave Pro - the Run for the Zoo 10k!
July
In July we were able to
travel to Pittsburgh to visit our pals over the 4th of July weekend! We mainly stayed in during this trip but honestly we don't have to go out to have a good time with this crew. As usual we made so many great memories, like watching the fireworks from the bridge, eating all of the deliciousness, and having out own lil backyard barbeque and lighting sparklers.🎆🎇 We always have so much fun when we travel to Pittsburgh and I hope that we can make another PGH trip in 2021.
August
Arguably the biggest highlight of 2020 -
Snowy came home in August! ❄ This little girl has brought so much light into our lives and we feel so lucky every day that she is part of our little family. It honestly feels like she has been with us forever, in the best way possible!
September
September was honestly a little bit of a hodgepodge, and I don't quite remember what happened?? 😂 I think
with the start of a new academic year, a lot of my attention was probably invested in work, which is likely why I can't remember a lot of it. However, I
do remember that Brett & I voted in the MA State Primary and that we celebrated Snowy's first birthday - both huge positives of 2020!
October
October brought early voting in the Presidential Election, celebrating Brett's birthday, and having an at-home Halloween, complete with a
Snow White theme group costume! (I just really wanted Snowy to be Snow(y) White for Halloween, and went from there for the rest of our costumes 😂) Another busy work month, but this is the month that this stay at home business has really felt like the norm, which is so wild to say!
November
I mean can you really think of November 2020 and NOT think of the
Presidential Election? If results had gone the other way I probably wouldn't be including it in my favorite moments 😂, but I am just so thrilled that the outcome was what it was. I'll always remember
where I was when I found out. It's definitely a moment in history that I'll never forget! I also was able to
visit my parents this month, which is always a highlight whenever that happens! Being so far apart is hard - especially during a pandemic - so when we are able to see each other it is truly special.
December
The final month of the year brought our
8 year anniversary, our
cross-country road trip to visit my parents for the holidays, and
two final in-person races which were an absolute blast! I think that December was an incredible way to cap off such a strange year. It's so wild the things we took for granted before the pandemic (traveling, eating at restaurants, seeing family regularly, attending in-person events), so now any time that I'm able to do the things I was able to do this month, I feel truly so lucky!
Cheers to a new year full of new possibilities! 🥂
Happy 2021, y'all! 🎉
