August 22, 2020 - 344 - "2020: It All Began So Well"

2020:  Then And Now

   I came across a post from that fantastic blog: 'Daily Hits of Happy.'  It was from a thousand years ago...way back in 2019.  I was waxing optimistic about the upcoming year.

    

           Haha ha hahaha!

I'm laughing because I'm: 

     a) about to quote myself,

     b) flattering myself, and 

     c) noticing how wrong I can be about something.

  Here's the evolving view of the year quoting yours truly: 
         (Truly-wrong about everything.)  

December 31, 2019:

    

      "I...hope The Twenties are an amazing decade for you!!  ...Here's to a Happy, Healthy, and Fun-Filled 2020!"

January 1, 2020:

     

     "Hey!  I just wrote:  "2020"!  It's a new day!  It's a new month!  It's a New Year!  It's a whole new decade!  Allow me to be one of the first to welcome you to the:  Best decade, Evah!"

March 13, 2020: 

     "Life, As We Know It, Has Been Canceled

            I heard through various sources throughout the day about school being   

         canceled indefinitely in some states, and spring breaks extended indefinitely in    

         others..."

     "Date for regular life to resume?

          To Be Determined."

March 22, 2020

     "It was a very weird thing yesterday."  (Trying to avoid being stuck in New York City because of canceled flights.)  "...it's true that I always want to come home, but rarely have I ever felt such a strong impulse to high-tail it home..."

     "Even after we landed in Dallas, I couldn't shake the feeling that I might not get home.  I couldn't wait to get off the plane, I practically rant to my car, kept trying to stop myself from speeding all the way home...and practically jumped on Michael when he came out to meet me, and carried Ella around for a long while when I came in.  I wanted to hug every tick of furniture and kiss the floor.

In uncertain times...there really is no place like home."

March 27, 2020

     "My work emails are a mixed bag of misery these days.

      The first one I saw this morning was a memorial for a fellow flight attendant:  the first team member from our airline to lose his life after testing positive for Covid-19."

     "...messages asking...to take leaves or early-out packages.  ...operating special flights to bring passengers stranded by travel restrictions home.  ...told to continuously monitor our schedules for changes...so many cancelations our scheduling departments can't inform everyone...there's no more beverage service on flights..."
     

May 14, 2020

   I Miss Social Nearnessing

      There's a lot of touching on planes:  "holding babies, ...helping someone into a wheelchair, shaking hands with crew, or passengers...  patting someone's shoulder or hand to get their attention, show concern, or calm someone's nerves...

      Now I'm wondering if we'll ever do that again.  What will the world be like post-Covid-19?

July 22, 2020

     Cootie Countdown

          "It started the clock ticking again:  It's now been 10 days since we left on the trip.  So, most likely, we didn't get infected with the virus on the way up.

      Now we're counting from when we got home...and remembering any and every nanosecond where we night have been infected...

     I've checked my temperature a lot.  That poor thermometer has been getting a workout with this pandemic."

July 27, 2020 

     "The airlines are all facing cutbacks.  I figured we'd be offered more leaves of absence. Thought I'd keep taking 3 or 6-month leaves until we get a vaccine to control the spread of this pandemic.

     But that wasn't offered.  We're faced with furloughing 9500 flight attendants.  To keep that

    The airlines are all facing cutbacks.  I figured we'd be offered more leaves of absence. Thought I'd keep taking 3 or 6-month leaves until we get a vaccine to control the spread of this pandemic.

      But that wasn't offered.  We're faced with furloughing 9500 flight attendants.  

      ...But I am taking...the shortest level being offered:  15 months.  ...that puts me at flying next in February...of 2022!"

And It's Gone On and On...

      ...it's a litany of "things I never thought I'd say."

      From Marble Olympics being the only sports game in town all spring and summer,  to massive unemployment, hospitals overflowing, protests across the country, to heads of state denying there's a problem...

     2020 is not the year any of us thought it was going to be.

     ...and still, I cling to the idea that there are always some small 'hits of happy' in the midst of the crazy.  Gotta focus on this exact moment more than ever.

Daily Hits of Happy

     -At this moment, friends and family are healthy.

     -Heard about a great new 'clumping corn cat litter' - supposed to be flushable and...not smell.  No plastic bag waste?  No stink?  My fingers are crossed that his works as well as a friends said it did

     -Coffee

  

---   

"To lose patience is to lose the battle."

-Mahatma Gandhi    

---

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul -

 and sings the tunes without the words - 

and never stops at all." 

-Emily Dickinson 

---