Years ago, an American president said that December 7, 1941 is a day that will live in infamy. I say, that because of our current president, 2020 is a year that will live in infamy. When a online dating site posts an ad that even Satan could have a successful match with 2020, then it's easy to claim that this will be the worst year in many of our lives.
Earlier this year, I lost my dad. And then, due to events related to an argument with an ex girlfriend, I got blackballed from a meetup group. Such is life. Other people had it much worse than I did. Can you imagine a young bride having to postpone her wedding three times due to the pandemic? Even worse, what happens when both breadwinners in a small family have lost their jobs, and have to go on food lines to have enough for their family to eat? What about a teenager who loses both parents to the virus? Even worse, what about an extended family of 23 who loses 17 members? As I write this entry, over 300,000 lives have been lost. Many of these deaths could have been prevented, had our president taken the pandemic seriously and had modeled proper use of face masks and hand washing. Instead, he turned mask wearing into a political statement, and helped cause super spreader events which made the pandemic even worse.
But enough about the troubles of 2020. We've all had them, and there's not much we can do except to muddle through and carry on. Instead, I'd like to focus on the good things that happened this year. For example, many of us learned who our real friends are. These are people who would stand with us in time of need, and be there for us whenever we needed help. Many of us started to realize that our votes could make a difference, and used these votes to remove the grifter in chief from office as of 1/20/21. Even "Big Pharma" looked at the pandemic as an opportunity to speed up development of new vaccines at a breakneck speed. We're learning that even in the worst of times, there's a lot of good to be said about an imperfect species such as ours.
In spite of the bad things that happened to me and my family this year, I have benefited from what I've gained during the year. For example, I have developed new friendships while working at the census AND have had a chance to perfect my feminine presentation. When I was training a couple of new employees, one mentioned that she'd have never thought me anything other than a cisgender female, save for when she saw my name when I logged on to the computer. I've also learned better ways of projecting an authentic feminine image while doing things which would have me wearing trouser like garments - something many newly out transgender people need to learn. Most of all, I have been able to retain my sense of humor and have found out who really appreciates having me in their lives.
Yes, there is a part of me that wishes I could turn the clock back a year or two and do different things. I'd still have two people in my life that I cared about. But we can't live in the past. We can only move forward. And forward means entering into 2021 with hope that the coming year will be better than 2020 - a relatively low bar to reach.
