Hello, 2020
published in St. Paul, Minnesota
That last decade was a wild ride, wasn’t it? Remember that time the media gave Obama shit for wearing a tan suit? Or that moment when that couple you’ve been close friends with made the leap into parenthood and the happiness you felt for them? That night you stayed up longer than you should to help someone mend their broken heart? Or all those nights where so many did the same for you? How about those other nights where you never thought you could love someone more, and when you looked over at them, you knew they felt the same about you? How you wanted that moment to last forever, and they did too?
Remember all those trips we went on? All those get-togethers we all were thrilled to see each other at? Those long lost friends that picked up exactly where you left off and told you that you’re just as amazing as you hoped you could be. Oh god, the hangovers! But they were worth it when someone retells the story.
Remember that time you said “fuck this” and uprooted your career, your life, to try something different, with nothing but blind faith, a lot of support, and a little savings? Or that time a little after that when you didn’t think you could do it anymore? And that time not long after that when someone you didn’t expect said something that showed the path you were looking for?
The ones that moved away and sought you out when they came to visit, the moments with family where a years-old grudge dissolved and something new began. And every moment of heartache and heartbreak you can look back on and how you’ve changed from it.
I don’t know if I can make a resolution, but I do think the best way to go into this next decade is to make all that happened in the last one count for something. Just do a little better and try to be kinder to myself when I don’t.
Happy New Year, happy leap year, happy decade. Happy all of it. And when it’s not happy, and not all of it will be, hold on to the times that were and all those people that were part of it. Right? Right.