“There’s always next year.”

We live in a time when a lot of what was supposed to happen in 2020 has been punted to 2021. Even the most mundane things, like a casual walk around a grocery store or stopping by the coffeeshop on your way to run errands, has been deferred. We grapple with loss and disappointment on a daily basis in ways I am not sure we were ever meant to.

I knew this year would be different. Last Christmas, we were planning for how this year would be our baby’s first. I must admit it looked quite a bit different in my imagination. Still, both of us have kept our jobs and our health in a year when neither of those things are true for so many. I consider myself incredibly fortunate. We still can’t begin to process the damage the last nine months have done to our community. But the promise of a vaccine and the country charting a new course is reason enough for hope.

Hope.

In a dark year, that is all we’re after: Hope. We draw that hope from the selflessness of others. From those folks who are willing to do whatever it takes to protect their friends and neighbors. Those who volunteer in a time when it’s not always safe to do so. Those that care for and comfort the sick and dying. That teach our kids against all odds. That keep food and supplies moving to our homes. The researchers that work tirelessly to bring about a safe vaccine that will save millions of people. As long as there is a breath in their lungs and a heart beats in their chest, there is hope for all of us.

We end 2020 with gratitude and hope for the new year. It’s all we need.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!