2020 was a remarkable year for my family. It forced us into a deeper and more focused analysis of our values and morals. By being in each other's space all the time, without ability to leave further than our home state, we learnt to compromise and appreciate the life and its creations. This photo journal speaks better than words about how we achieved harmony amidst the global pandemic.
In January, there were tweets of a dangerous virus emerging in the East. Yet we still travelled to Boston and gathered with friends. In late February, the streets of Brunswick would cautiously get less crowded bringing new walking opportunities to non-human town population. First week of March, public activities were still available and schools were open. Then It hit the US. California, New York and nearby Massachusetts were one of the firsts. Statewide lockdown happened over night
With no cars or pedestrians in sight, April and May were months of internal reflection and rediscovering of our natural habitat. June relieved some of the restrictions, we could play sports and sunbathe on the beach. Then Summer came. It is in Maine a vacation by definition. Water fun-activities, natural parks and goofy towns - we almost forgot about the global pandemic. However, it didn't last long enough, the Fall brought more curfew hours and remote schooling tested the stamina of all the age groups.
Holiday season was a strenuous one for the post services in the US. Voting by mail and online shopping created an unprecedented shipping demand. We celebrated Halloween with a bottle of hand sanitizer floating in all the pictures like a ghost. Even pumpkins took a form of a viral molecules. Still we kept walking, walking in the rain and in the woods, reaching new mountain peaks and taking it all in from above.
On the 24th of December, despite the crisis, Santa Claus stopped by as usual, lighting up empty squares and faces of my children. On December 31, we launched a few fire works rockets to celebrate the end of 2020 and then we reflected on our lives once more. The year was sad and shocking, enduring and full of tests in every sense of this word. Still, many of us lived, and learnt, and experienced, and even grew a couple of inches. That is why we are grateful and happy that we had these 365 days. We are also looking forward to the new 2021 and we resolute to find joy in every day of it.
