5
 
 
  
Entry #2099
 
12:01 AM - December 31st, 2020
 
  
Voiceover is an obvious entry here:
 
***
 
It seems strange to do a yearend video for 2020. My yearend videos are always so personal and unique to The Journey... and 2020 was the most globally experienced year... maybe ever? I mean sure, the plague was worse - but without the internet, I'm sure people didn't realize the breadth of it all back then? No, thanks to being interconnected it really did feel like we all went through this together even if half the people in THIS country didn't believe it was real. Of course, the year didn't start like that...
 
...no it started for me with the death of Kobe which erased a full month of productivity while I languished in slow motion. A depression that seemed to coincide with utter burnout from RentTheDelorean and just wanting to hug my family non-stop. Little did I realize that the world seemed to be listening and I'd wake up one day to this...
 
(Entry #2012 - Today Was Bad video)
 
Now, because asthma is seemingly the least of Cam's breathing issues? This completely stopped our family. We stayed in. We played video games and 9 months later that hasn't changed. To be honest? We all kind of loved it. We're homebodies to begin with and I was thrilled to have LIFE force me to take a break. The following month not only did my grandfather die of COVID, our beloved Cebe was dying and we had to call animal control to take her while still alive, since we couldn't risk going IN to the vet. My, GOD.
 
But then, we started talking with other friends who were dealing with immuno-compromised issues and we formed a quaranteam so our kids could play and it was EVERYTHING. I still seemed to have monthly gigs, which I would do at least 50 feet from people but mostly we all just stayed home.
 
When the Floyd protests started? It killed me to stay in, but had no choice. Our quaranteam went on a road trip for a couple of months but were able to find one friend for Cam's birthday party who had quarantined for at least 2 weeks... bought my dad a quest so we could fish together... and we took our ONE trip of the year to the middle of NOWHERE to camp.
 
And then school started back up...
 
(Entry #2059 - We'll Make Lemonade. Once. video)
 
It's hard to express how close we were to moving to Vancouver. Paperwork was downloaded, plans with my mother-in-law selling her house while I rented out our place were pretty set... and my heart was ready. Watching your kids lose their childhood will do that to you. And clearly, I had no faith in our government to protect us anymore. Obviously if he was re-elected we'd go... but even with an administration change, disinformation and anti-vaxxers may force our hand either way. Add to school, Vienna's zoom birthday party - which, while memorable, still eats at you as a parent to see her get cheated out of a special day.
 
To curb my anger, I focused on Meeting Michael.
 
Which meant I had to lose some weight... which I did. And my kids got to be in the movie with me which was hilarious. And then suddenly, it happened - the administration lost. Around the same time? The efficacy of the vaccine came out: 95%. Which means, even anti-vaxxers most likely won't kill our herd immunity. Thoughts of moving started to vanish. The holidays arrived and we dug in. Finally saw the death of the Camry... seemed like the year to let it go... and we end the year as hopeful as could possibly be imagined considering all we've been through. By next summer, life should start to return to normal. And just maybe, after January 20th, I'll be able to sleep again.
 
Goodbye 2020. We didn't hate you as much as most people did, but we're happy to look ahead...
 
***
 
Not much more to add, really. I just can't believe it's really over. And I'm still anxious about next month and what awful shit is going to happen as Trump continues this insanity. I still can't believe he hasn't just announced 2024 and continued the grift. It's like he somehow believes he can pressure Pence into doing something.
 
Ugh.
 
NEW YEAR'S AND NO COVID! YAY.
 
Adam