{"id":355267,"date":"2026-07-08T17:37:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/reflections-on-2020-lessons-in-patience-gratitude\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T17:37:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:37:38","slug":"reflections-on-2020-lessons-in-patience-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=355267","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on 2020: lessons in patience &#038; gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>This is a story of a year of transformation.<\/p>\n<p>I know that many of us have been eagerly awaiting an end to 2020. We want a do-over \u2013 a new start that matches more of the 2020-themed taglines about clarity and vision.<\/p>\n<p>We want a year that does not claim hundreds of thousands of lives indiscriminately, or any lives at the hands of discrimination underpinned by systemic racism.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, within this debacle of a year, each of us and each of our children has been on our own journey, learning our own insights about ourselves and our place in the world.<\/p>\n<p>This year has brought me a surprising array of opportunities for growth and transformation. As it draws to a close, I want to honor the place I\u2019m in right now and document what helped me get here.<\/p>\n<p>I know that nothing lasts forever. But I\u2019m feeling grateful for my present now and hopeful about my ability going forward to be in the present and keep my heart open.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10815\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Purple-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"50\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A year ago, things felt dark and heavy. I was depressed and lonely, unable to count my blessings, even if I intellectually knew I had them.<\/p>\n<p>I was overwhelmed by so much: my mom\u2019s declining health and expected passing, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/holistic-moms-chapters-in-nova-to-merge-january-2020\/\">end\/transition<\/a> of a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/holistic-moms-network-arlingtonalexandria-chapter-looks-back-9-years-future\/\">the Holistic Moms group I had created and poured my heart into<\/a> for a number of years, the requirements necessary to finalize a divorce and move toward supporting myself as a single mom, and worries about my children\u2019s health.<\/p>\n<p>I questioned every choice I\u2019d made, including what seemed like a supremely audacious and arrogant decision to believe that I could ever be up to the challenge of having and raising children.<\/p>\n<p>On New Year\u2019s Eve 2019, I cried myself to sleep at 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m happy to say that I feel significantly different a year later. I understand that things can change in an instant, and yet I\u2019m able to enjoy each moment I\u2019m in and look forward to what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10815\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Purple-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"50\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>How did this shift happen?<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the things that I think made a difference.<\/p>\n<h4>Movement<\/h4>\n<p>This year I have found my place in my body.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve kept up my daily yoga practice at home and have attended a few lovely outdoor classes. I\u2019ve also added in <a href=\"https:\/\/masgutovamethod.com\/the-method\/the-mnri-method-approach-programs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MNRI exercises<\/a> that a physical therapist recommended for my teen. I think that these neurosensorimotor reflex integration movements have helped some synapses to finally connect!<\/p>\n<p>But the biggest change is that I\u2019m running, long and light.<\/p>\n<p>As I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/back-on-the-trail-running-after-baby\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote last spring<\/a>, I started running for the first time nearly a decade after my husband and I separated in early 2019. I began slowly. By the end of that summer, I was able to run for about five miles, and in the fall, I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B5ShCabh12j\/\">ran a 5K with my youngest<\/a>, my first race in ten and a half years.<\/p>\n<p>This spring, as the pandemic kept us from going anywhere indoors, I took it farther on the trail. I increased my distance on my one long run each weekend, loving the stillness I found in my head as my feet moved along the pavement. I worked out plot elements in my novel, I drafted poems and essays, I moved forward in relationship issues and laid plans for parenting.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve expanded where I run to going along the Potomac River and running a circuit I never would have thought possibly, now regularly doing a 10-mile run each weekend and a few times getting up to almost 12 when I\u2019ve had good weather and no time constraints. I\u2019m grateful for every step.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Nature Connection<\/h4>\n<p>When I began solo-parenting during the week in early 2019, I began walking the dog in the woods after dropping my kids off at school. Oh the hours I\u2019ve logged on those trails, taking in the beauty around me, thinking up stories, and talking with others and hearing theirs!<\/p>\n<p>After schools closed in March 2020, my kids and I got out for more bike rides and then, once allergy season ended in May, we began taking hikes. Having previously been so <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthywomen.org\/real-women-real-stories\/my-long-climb-out-chronic-lyme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fatigued with Lyme Disease<\/a>, I\u2019d never bec0me the outdoorsy mom I\u2019d envisioned. This summer, we hiked more in three months than in the previous 10 years.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/richardlouv.com\/books\/vitamin-n\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vitamin N<\/a> is incredibly healing.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10812 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Buffalo-Mountain-summit-360-view-Virginia-Mindful-Healthy-Life.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"878\" height=\"658\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Buffalo-Mountain-summit-360-view-Virginia-Mindful-Healthy-Life.jpg 878w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Buffalo-Mountain-summit-360-view-Virginia-Mindful-Healthy-Life-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Buffalo-Mountain-summit-360-view-Virginia-Mindful-Healthy-Life-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Buffalo-Mountain-summit-360-view-Virginia-Mindful-Healthy-Life-610x457.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 878px) 100vw, 878px\"\/><\/p>\n<h4>Grief<\/h4>\n<p>As my mother\u2019s her health declined and her mental acuity faded, I experienced years of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellhealth.com\/understanding-anticipatory-grief-and-symptoms-2248855\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">anticipatory grief<\/a>. She wasn\u2019t much present in my kids\u2019 lives, having visited us here in Virginia only a handful of times since I became a parent in 2006. We made the drive to Michigan to see her and other family every summer and winter, and I\u2019d flown out alone twice to spend some kid-free time with my mom in the wake of reading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cherylstrayed.com\/wild_108676.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Wild<\/em><\/a> by Cheryl Strayed, which inspired me to share with my mom the novel I\u2019d been working on while I still could.<\/p>\n<p>After her quadruple bypass in 2015, I slept in her hospital room and helped her put together a vision board. She did make it out of the hospital, but she never got past a limited recovery that allowed her more than a few steps at a time. By 2017, her strength and lucidity were fading. I felt guilty for not helping more but also aware of my limitations and committed to showing up for my own children. I had been <a href=\"https:\/\/crunchychewymama.com\/the-highs-and-the-lows-living-full-with-chronic-illness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">chronically fatigued<\/a> for so many years, so I was nervous about backsliding and then had to deal with separating and moving and showing up for my kids as much as I could. It was important to me not to fall into negative patterns that my mom appeared to have gotten stuck in, especially toward the end of her life. I wanted to be supportive and loving, but I was also protective of my energy. Ambivalence was my primary emotion.<\/p>\n<p>In December 2019, all my siblings and nieces and nephews gathered together. My children got to see how to be loving with a dying person.<\/p>\n<p>After my mom died in late February, felt like I could finally honor all my feelings. A friend told me about free grief counseling offered by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.capitalcaring.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Capital Caring<\/a>. I had one in-person session before the pandemic and another on the phone after. They were powerful and healing, creating space for movement in positive directions and letting go of what didn\u2019t serve me.<\/p>\n<p>In the late summer, I was saddened to learn that someone who had been a major part of my early 2003s journey to heal my thyroid and regain my fertility had committed suicide a few months earlier. She made such a difference in so many people\u2019s lives and left behind a daughter on the precicipe of adulthood. We\u2019d not been in touch for a while, and I wished I\u2019d known how profoundly she was suffering. This is the second woman who\u2019s played a major role in my life who\u2019s taken her life, the other being my hugely influential doula. It\u2019s also how my brother died. This latest loss came at a time when I was feeling most distant from depression and it strenghthened my resolve to be uncompromising in my fight for my mental health and that of those I love.<\/p>\n<p>Although I\u2019d been discussing these issues in therapy for a long time, it was this year when I truly began to process my grief about the loss of these important people and of the relationship I would never have with my mom or with my longtime partner. If I was to thrive \u2013 and if my children were \u2013 I would have to let go of an obsolete vision of an intact family and not judge the new reality as wrong or inferior. I began developing a better relationship with uncertainty and creating something new, something with myself at the center.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Energy Work<\/h4>\n<p>When I\u2019m feeling stuck or feel like one of my kids is stuck and journaling and talk therapy are not cutting it, I seek out energy work. I have a few gifted friends who have, following their own health journeys, become gifted healers. Consultations with them to clear blockages have led to powerful shifts with my kids and, I believe, have made a huge difference for me in the past several months. I also think that the passing of my mom led me to be more \u2013 or differently \u2013 open to receiving the benefits of energy work.<\/p>\n<p>I had been getting craniosacral work near monthly before the pandemic hit, and I think that helped me find inner calm \u2013 to activate my parasympathetic nervous system and allow it to be the one that stays more active instead of my fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system that used to be activated nearly all the time. I\u2019ve had only one treatment since restrictions went in place \u2013 and kids stopped going to school! \u2013 in March and am glad I prioritized getting it often while I could.<\/p>\n<h4>Illness<\/h4>\n<p>I came down with a fever the night before my mom died, which also happened to be the anniversary of my brother\u2019s death back in 1987. I had a hunch I was getting sick when I went to bed on the night of February 23, and when I woke the next morning, I knew without taking my temperature that I was ill and I knew without listening to my voicemail that my mom had died. I spent the week in a sweaty, shivering stupor, sleeping most of the day after driving the kids to school and walking the dog in a slow shuffle. I talked to my siblings but didn\u2019t join them at my parents\u2019 house in Michigan. There was no way I could fly, even if I felt like I could leave my kids, who were grappling with their first experience of death.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the week, I tried to venture out for a book reading, but it completely exhausted me. I canceled plans to go to a writing conference with friends the following weekend \u2013 what I didn\u2019t know would be the last time anyone would go anywhere \u2013 and I spent that first week of March (including my birthday) crying and wondering if my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthywomen.org\/real-women-real-stories\/my-long-climb-out-chronic-lyme\">Lyme<\/a> was triggered again and if I\u2019d ever not feel ill.<\/p>\n<p>I heeded the advice of my holistic health coach friend to take it easy and to add some supplements into my regime. Before long, I improved and, I think, emerged stronger than I\u2019d been before the illness.<\/p>\n<p>I believe in the healing powers of fevers. I also think it was a gift to be pushed to cocoon in the immediate wake of my mom\u2019s death. That time of year was already the toughest for me. My illness gave me permission to really sink down and feel my grief so I could move out of it. It was scary and awful, but it was necessary.<\/p>\n<h4>Meaningful (paid) work<\/h4>\n<p>Although I want to emphasize all the healing aspects of my journey this year, I can\u2019t underestimate the benefit I\u2019ve received by being paid and appreciated for work. For many years, I poured energy into volunteer work and then into this site, to the detriment of my financial health. There were many benefits, but they didn\u2019t pay the bills.<\/p>\n<p>As my husband and I moved closer to divorce, I spent more time and energy looking for jobs and then being glad I hadn\u2019t gotten one once my kids were home with me during the week. It was a surprise to be offered a job I hadn\u2019t even really applied for. Through one email on a freelance group, I connected with a non-profit organization where my skills in editing and basic graphic design were in demand. The work came toward the end of the \u201cschool\u201d year, was flexible and got me more connected to the political scene in a way that felt invigorating. Although it has been challenging to balance the needs of work and family, I am aware how lucky I am to have the opportunity to do meaningful paid work at a time when so many people do not have that option. The pandemic has shifted how I feel about now and future, about claiming what\u2019s available when it\u2019s there and not assuming there will always be a next time.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s still important to do things mindfully and not say yes to things that are outside my scope. I learned \u2013 and am practicing! \u2013 how to put in place healthy boundaries to get my work done without dramatically compromising my children\u2019s summer or my health. Feeling like a valued part of an organization and part of something greater than me has been very rewarding, as has feeling my earning power.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Reckoning<\/h4>\n<p>This year saw tremendous pain and loss of life, murders of people of color at the hands of law enforcement or those who deem themselves to be arbiters of justice. This was horrible, but I have been heartened by what may come out of this pain. I have been glad to hear and see so many more white people willing to engage in interrogating systemic racism and their role in it.<\/p>\n<p>I left teaching in 2006 feeling saddened that I couldn\u2019t get my colleagues to care about my research and advocacy about the skewed racial makeup of AP and honors classes or that I couldn\u2019t manage to make <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/yes-i-want-my-white-kids-challenged-to-question-their-privilege_b_11073778?1473448229=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">my own classrooms<\/a> the empowering places for youth of color that I envisioned. It was hard work, harder than the Intro to Women\u2019s Studies classes I\u2019d previously taught at the college level, where in 1999, we started off with readings about systemic racism and systems of oppression before we even began talking specifically about gender. I\u2019ve felt despondent the past four years by so much, especially decisions like the one to not allow critical race theory into sensitivity trainings. So while I didn\u2019t want it to have to take so much pain to open people\u2019s eyes, I\u2019m at least hopeful that this gigantic wound is something white people are no longer thinking can be covered with band-aids.<\/p>\n<p>My children are witness to this shift and, I hope, will grow up with a keener awareness and commitment to justice than they might have if things persisted without the fever pitch of this year\u2019s violence and the reactions to it. They\u2019ve been part of vigils in-person and online and have a heightened sense of the importance of connection and intention to cause a shift. I hope we will hold one another accountable and make sure we are not complicit and are instead agents of change.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10813 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/2020-March-on-Washington-Lincoln-Memorial-Reflecting-Pool-Mindful-Healthy-Life-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/2020-March-on-Washington-Lincoln-Memorial-Reflecting-Pool-Mindful-Healthy-Life-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/2020-March-on-Washington-Lincoln-Memorial-Reflecting-Pool-Mindful-Healthy-Life-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/2020-March-on-Washington-Lincoln-Memorial-Reflecting-Pool-Mindful-Healthy-Life-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/2020-March-on-Washington-Lincoln-Memorial-Reflecting-Pool-Mindful-Healthy-Life-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/2020-March-on-Washington-Lincoln-Memorial-Reflecting-Pool-Mindful-Healthy-Life-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/2020-March-on-Washington-Lincoln-Memorial-Reflecting-Pool-Mindful-Healthy-Life-610x458.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/p>\n<h4>Mindfulness &amp; Yoga<\/h4>\n<p>Yoga has been my daily companion for quite some time. Doing yoga regularly has allowed me to be able to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/back-on-the-trail-running-after-baby\/\">run<\/a>, which is my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/back-on-the-trail-running-after-baby\/\">moving meditation<\/a>. I\u2019ve sat in stillness for some periods, but what I\u2019ve done more consistently has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mettainstitute.org\/mettameditation.html\">metta meditation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I wish, first to myself, loving kindness, that I may be healthy and strong, that I may be peaceful and calm, that I love and be loved, and that my life unfolds with ease. The \u201cbe loved\u201d part has been rough at times, but I\u2019ve persisted without skipping over it.<\/p>\n<p>I then move on to wish the same to someone I love unconditionally (usually my kids but sometimes extended family or a close friend), then someone I don\u2019t know well, and then someone who\u2019s felt challenging to me (sometimes people in power, sometimes my kid\u2019s dad, sometimes a school official, sometimes just someone who hurt my feelings). And then I wish all this to all beings.<\/p>\n<p>Doing this before I wake up \u2013 or sometimes when I wake in the night, or when I wind down to sleep \u2013 has contributed greatly to my ability to accept myself and others, which really, is everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Loss of FOMO &amp; embrace of uncertainty<\/h4>\n<p>I wish it didn\u2019t take the loss of thousands of lives to get me to let go of expectations, but I do think the pandemic has really assisted my <a href=\"https:\/\/zenhabits.net\/attachments\/\">non-attachment<\/a>. Even if I\u2019ve always known there\u2019s no such thing as certainty or control, I really get that now.<\/p>\n<p>I can only control how I show up. And for that, I need to contribute healthy ingredients for a healthy attitude: cultivating mindfulness, eating good food, getting exercise, etc. I may still have down times, but if I am on the regular doing things that support my body, mind and spirit, then I will be able to find my way to openness in the face of whatever arises.<\/p>\n<p>The pandemic shook me loose from thinking I could know what was going to happen in a month or a year. It came just at the time that my husband and I were negotiating spousal support and looking at the years ahead, which got me realizing how little time left I have with my kids. One will graduate in 2024 and the other in 2028. That\u2019s really not very far away. The confluence of being with them all the time and thinking about someday not being with them \u2013 at the moment that everyone\u2019s sense of normalcy was in an upheaval \u2013 created a news space for a kind of calm I\u2019d never known. Nothing was going to get better by me being anxious.<\/p>\n<p>And although I was nervous about illness, I was finding myself less anxious overall because gone from my life was a sense that it would be better <em>if only<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>If only I had the money to travel or a partner who wanted to travel and take the kids places, or a partner who wanted me to write, and if only I had time to cook my kids the best food while also getting them outside and being a great teacher and sympathetic ear and simultaneously modeled for them being an active engaged citizen who does meaningful work\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I let that all go. Positioning myself as a victim had been my default setting. Amid the pandemic, that just fell off the dial.<\/p>\n<p>I also lost the Fear of Missing Out that had gripped me since well before it was an acronym. I had FOMO about events I wished to attend (even if I hadn\u2019t known about them until I scrolled through Facebook and saw other people there) or places I wished I could visit or foods I wished I could have at restaurants I wished I could afford, or fun times with people I wished wanted to be with me.<\/p>\n<p>Once no one could go anywhere or spend time together, all that FOMO was gone. People are doing more things now, months later, but the idea of choosing what to do on your own terms now does not feel like settling. It feels like choice.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t really care what other people are doing so much anymore. I\u2019ll still take ideas from people about places to hike or things to try, but I\u2019m just not a sucker for envy anymore.<\/p>\n<p>For a long time, I felt like I was too weak to get to do all the things I\u2019d like to do. I even wished for less years of life so I\u2019d have less time for regret.<\/p>\n<p>Now I feel like life is pretty short. No one gets to do everything. When it is possible to do more \u2013 to travel and to be with people \u2013 I will totally do a lot more, not out of fear of missing out but out of a desire to cultivate joy. And out of curiosity.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of which\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Curiosity<\/h4>\n<p>Travel and hands-on experiences are not the only ways of the curious. Reading is a wonderful way to learn and engage. I\u2019ve found I\u2019m much happier when I am reading a novel or work of short fiction. I\u2019ve also gotten a lot out of reading memoirs and self-help books, the most notable of which this year was <em><a href=\"https:\/\/untamedbook.com\/\">Untamed<\/a><\/em> by Glennon Doyle.<\/p>\n<p>(That book deserves its own reflective essay. Maybe someday. For now, it\u2019s got a lot of sticky notes).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/untamedbook.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10829 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Untamed-book-with-sticky-notes-Mindful-Healthy-Life.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"637\" height=\"658\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Untamed-book-with-sticky-notes-Mindful-Healthy-Life.jpg 637w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Untamed-book-with-sticky-notes-Mindful-Healthy-Life-290x300.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Untamed-book-with-sticky-notes-Mindful-Healthy-Life-610x630.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I first heard about Glennon\u2019s book from a terrific <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/03\/22\/818495802\/theres-no-map-glennon-doyle-on-living-an-untamed-life\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Weekend Edition interview<\/a> with Lulu Garcia-Navarro. I cannot fail to note the great extent to which listening to NPR has taught me and made me want to be curious about the world and engaged with it.<\/p>\n<p>I attribute much personal growth to listening to the music variety show <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.livefromhere.org\/\">Live From Here<\/a><\/em> and <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@haneyjessicaclaire\/concert-companion-live-from-here-got-me-through-a-separation-and-a-pandemic-then-it-got-canceled-231e01af0b5b\">attending a show in person<\/a>, by myself, in June 2019. I would have attended again on March 14, 2020, but that obviously got canceled.<\/p>\n<p>In the first few months of the pandemic, I enjoyed my solo Saturday nights going grocery shopping and listening to <em>Live From Here<\/em>, followed by <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.livewireradio.org\/\">Live Wire<\/a><\/em>. It was a sad day in June when <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@haneyjessicaclaire\/concert-companion-live-from-here-got-me-through-a-separation-and-a-pandemic-then-it-got-canceled-231e01af0b5b\">I learned that <em>Live From Here<\/em> would be canceled<\/a>, and another sad day in September when my local NPR station changed its Saturday programming to stop playing both shows.<\/p>\n<p><em>(See <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@haneyjessicaclaire\/concert-companion-live-from-here-got-me-through-a-separation-and-a-pandemic-then-it-got-canceled-231e01af0b5b\">this post I wrote on Medium<\/a>\u00a0for more on the cancellation.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>But this shift was also a reminder that everything has its time.<\/p>\n<p><em>(See my forthcoming post for more on endings and beginnings!)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>My intellectual and spiritual growth have also been influenced by the Unitarian Universalist church we started attending regularly four years ago. Attendance at church has helped me to feel open to more learning and to more curiosity. I enjoyed the services we attended in person, but, before my marital separation, I also frequently cried much of the way through them, especially if then-musical-artist-in-residence <a href=\"https:\/\/mayarogers.bandcamp.com\/\">Maya Rogers<\/a> was performing. (Her voice!)<\/p>\n<p>One time we had to share what we had an \u201cabundance\u201d of, and I happened to be sitting next to Maya, who said, \u201cI have an abundance of love.\u201d I gulped, realizing how stuck I was in a paradigm of lack. I knew this was a story and not a truth, but I also couldn\u2019t manage to get out of the fiction.<\/p>\n<p>Four years of music and sermons \u2013 in person and online \u2013 have helped \u2013 given me insights, reminded me what I\u2019d forgotten, and connected me to something greater than myself. The church has been in transition, having lost its senior minister unexpectedly and then undergone a search for self and a way forward through two interim ministers. This has been messy and unsettling for those who were deeply connected to the church as it was, but for me coming in just head of this transition, watching the process was instructive and inspiring. I got to see people muddling through and holding onto a belief in their ability to create something new.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Intention &amp; Awareness<\/h4>\n<p>I\u2019ve spent many of the past ten years needing to be incredibly intentional about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/celiac-disease-awareness-month\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">what I eat<\/a>, almost to the point of it nearly consuming me as a project, so to speak. I had such a hard time digesting my food, absorbing its minerals; constantly taking care of someone else and attending to their needs made that even harder. It\u2019s a joke but also true that I sent my youngest child to full-time preschool at age three partly so that I could eat lunch alone. This may seem selfish and ridiculous, but it was absolutely necessary, and it was one of the many steps that led me to being better today.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m thrilled to now have more flexibility with food, to have fewer and lesser immediate and delayed food reactions. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drperlmutter.com\/about\/brain-maker-by-david-perlmutter-md\/\">happier GI tract means a happier brain<\/a>, or one more capable of appropriately circulating the neurotransmitters one needs to sustain a sense of peace and contentment. I have more latitude, but I am not immune to hiccups and backslides.<\/p>\n<p>I remain intentional and serious about my food choices and the way I approach food. I eat what I love with a full heart, I cook with joy (usually), I avoid things I know are triggers, I try to always eat sitting down, I observe a full 12-hour fast between dinner and breakfast, and I rarely snack. I used to turn down most social eating opportunities. I don\u2019t drink alcohol or coffee. This is what works for me.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s always room for improvement. I\u2019d still love to widen my recipe repertoire \u2013 to actually consult some of the many cookbooks I own \u2013 and to get my kids more regularly involved in meals and to get back to making broth and some other staples more often. But I\u2019m currently okay with the shortcuts I take. They are intentional and serve a purpose.<\/p>\n<p>Other areas of intention include regularly taking my supplements and reviewing them with practitioners, getting bodywork (when it feels safe), doing core exercises and yoga daily \u00a0\u2013 and running at least once a week \u2013 and using essential oils in targeted ways. The main area I\u2019m struggling with right now is sleep, so I did the <a href=\"https:\/\/dutchtest.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DUTCH<\/a> test to understand what\u2019s up with my hormones and adjusting supplements accordingly. I\u2019ve also scheduled acupuncture and craniosacral appointments.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Creativity<\/h4>\n<p>I feel most alive when I\u2019m writing. Whether I\u2019m writing fiction, essays or poetry, the act is transformative. So too, is the act of reading. Every word I read makes me a better writer.<\/p>\n<p>I love that when asked what my most recent vision board \u201csaid,\u201d my youngest replied: \u201cAlive.\u201d This is what I want to feel and what I want to convey.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-10819\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/IMG_20200921_205945280-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/IMG_20200921_205945280-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/IMG_20200921_205945280-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/IMG_20200921_205945280-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/IMG_20200921_205945280-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/IMG_20200921_205945280-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/IMG_20200921_205945280-610x458.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/p>\n<h4>Connection<\/h4>\n<p>Although only a small amount of writing has yet made its way to journals\u2019 submission boxes, a lot has gotten onto the page. And much of it has been shared \u2013 workshopped and commented on by others. In addition to seeking feedback from friends and colleagues, I have loved participating in critique groups and in workshops this year.<\/p>\n<p>A surprising bonus to the shutdown of in-person life has meant much more has gone online. Because of my early-March illness, I missed one of the four in-person writing conferences I\u2019d signed up for this year, but I had the opportunity to participate in so many more \u2013 conferences, talks, workshops, and readings \u2013 because things went virtual. I was even <a href=\"https:\/\/washingtoncitypaper.com\/article\/304180\/how-going-virtual-has-opened-up-the-dc-literary-and-storytelling-scenes\/\">quoted in the <em>City Paper<\/em><\/a> about taking advantage of the virtual literary and storytelling scene in D.C.!<\/p>\n<p>Some of these opportunities offered insights that I put into practice immediately. Others were simply enlivening and entertaining. Many provided information I know I\u2019ll turn back to at the right time. All were meaningful connections.<\/p>\n<p>Being equally an introvert and extrovert, it\u2019s worked out for me to connect with family and friends online and by phone and occasionally outdoors, on walks or while our kids are playing. Happy hours were never my thing, and it felt hard to get out to readings on a school night when my kids were home with me as the solo parent.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not ideal to tune my kids out right after dinner, but once in a while, it\u2019s a saving grace.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Time alone<\/h4>\n<p>For almost two years now, I\u2019ve had Friday nights and Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings alone.<\/p>\n<p>Before separating from my husband, I\u2019d had only about a dozen nights away from my kids \u2013 to visit my mom, to attend conferences and to focus on my novel.<\/p>\n<p>Once we split into two homes, I had a lot more. He\u2019s had the kids from after school each Friday through going to school on Monday. However, I\u2019ve rarely spent a whole weekend away from my kids. Pre-pandemic I helped take one to an activity while the other did something else most Saturdays, and we met at church on Sundays. Now, we often get together for dinner and maybe a movie or TV at least one night during most weekends.<\/p>\n<p>Still, it\u2019s been very helpful to have three mornings when I can do yoga and listen to NPR and clean and write and now, also, to work, while no one needs anything or pulls me out of my reverie. I get to retreat to my own space to journal and read before bed. It\u2019s not like it was impossible for me establish healthy boundaries without moving out, but it felt like it was.<\/p>\n<p>Regular journaling should probably get its own category. I started a few years ago with a guided journal called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Best-Part-My-Day-Chronically\/dp\/0983086818\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The Best Part of My Day: A Healing Journal for Chronically Ill Patients<\/em><\/a> and then made a guided journal for myself. Now I have one journal where I jot quick notes about exercise, sleep and self care each and every day and another where I write more long form reflections.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve grown and reflected and learned a lot during this time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10815\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Purple-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"50\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Documenting this year \u2013 this portion of my journey \u2013 felt important. I have always tried to approach what I share with a glimpse at hope, but sometimes it\u2019s been hard. I\u2019m sure that\u2019s probably come through in my writing and also how I\u2019ve shown up as a friend or colleague. I know it\u2019s affected how I\u2019ve shown up as a parent. It was always a goal to be open about the messiness of life and the process, but I fear that my stuck-ness might have sounded a stronger note than I desired. It was in my heart.<\/p>\n<p>I want for my kids \u2013 and for my future self \u2013 to know where I was at the end of this tumultuous year. We all go through phases, I know, but it feels that I\u2019ve entered a very different one.<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t predict the future, but I\u2019m finally honestly really looking forward to it.<\/p>\n<p>And I wanted to make that known.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10815\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Purple-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"50\"\/><\/p>\n<p><em>All images copyright 2020 Jessica Claire Haney. May not be reproduced without permission.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2055\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/small-flower.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"77\" height=\"77\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/mindful-healthy-life-founder-jessica-claire-haney\/\"><strong>Jessica Claire Haney<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is a <a href=\"http:\/\/jessicaclairehaney.com\/index.php\/writing\/\">writer<\/a>\u00a0and the founder of\u00a0<\/em><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/about\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.mindfulhealthylife.com\/about&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1497453707752000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGELXTozfBfhmsB71Vs4r_0JGqugA\">Mindful Healthy Life<\/a><\/em><\/strong><em>. A former English teacher, she works as a freelance <a href=\"https:\/\/jessicaclairehaney.com\/services\/\">editor and tutor<\/a>.\u00a0Learn more at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/jessicaclairehaney.com\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/jessicaclairehaney.com\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1497453707752000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFgwFvDd1FtafI_lMfVp36RAU375Q\">JessicaClaireHaney.com<\/a>.\u00a0Follow Jessica on Instagram at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jessicaclairehaney\/\">@jessicaclairehaney<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mindfulhealthy\/\">@mindfulhealthy<\/a>, on Facebook at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CrunchyChewyMama\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CrunchyChewyMama\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1497453707753000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFmh5M2-VYZJE9KGtvMzfSu4JDGiQ\">CrunchyChewyMama<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mindfulhealthylife\">MindfulHealthyLife<\/a>,\u00a0and on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/crunchychewy\">@CrunchyChewy<\/a> and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mindfulhealthy\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/twitter.com\/mindfulhealthy&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1497453707753000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHRTnKr1D0zuPod1R62AhyIz0komw\">@MindfulHealthy<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"et_bloom_bottom_trigger\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a story of a year of transformation. I know that many of us have been eagerly awaiting an end to 2020. We want a do-over \u2013 a new start that matches more of the 2020-themed taglines about clarity and vision. We want a year that does not claim hundreds of thousands of lives [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":355268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97458,96656,176488,141781,12324,176489,111128,106394,12541],"tags":[8962,5200,19356,14721],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-355267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-creativity","category-featured-r","category-intention","category-mindfulness","category-nature-outdoors","category-reflections","category-self-care-2","category-yoga","tag-gratitude","tag-lessons","tag-patience","tag-reflections"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Reflections on 2020: lessons in patience &amp; gratitude - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=355267\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reflections on 2020: lessons in patience &amp; gratitude - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is a story of a year of transformation. 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