This past year has been the absolute worst. And as we now have reached the one-year mark in this pandemic, everyone is posting how this last year has impacted them, and honestly, most of these posts make me want to puke.
I’ve never been a fan of “year in review” posts in normal years (maybe because I feel I never have accomplished much of anything), but I really don’t want to hear them now.
If anything, I would like to forget the year 2020 ever existed.
Things I have seen people post about this horrendous year:
“We have become closer as a family.”
How is this even possible? My kids daily have tried to kill each other. With them ALWAYS home, they never got a break from each other and constantly were on each other’s nerves.
With closures and restrictions, combined with our own precautions, on the usual places we go, they haven’t had an outlet for their abundance of energy.
Since my husband has been pretty much the only adult I got to talk to for an entire year, I’m shocked we haven’t gotten a divorce. (But hey, life is still not normal, so there’s a chance yet.)
I have found myself getting more and more annoyed by things he does and says to no fault of his own. Like the kids, I haven’t had my usual outlets of having lunch with friends and talking to other moms at school pick-up.
“I’ve taken up yoga and lost 20 pounds!”
First, that’s awesome if this has happened to you. However, over here, I have turned into a big pile of goo.
Who has the time and energy to do any form of exercise after playing referee all day and fighting with kids to do school work?
The kids haven’t even let me go to the bathroom in peace, what makes me think they’d let me have 30 minutes to exercise?
“Virtual school has let me be a part of what my child is learning.”
Virtual school has been hell. Ever try to get a kindergartener to sit in front of a computer to pay attention to anything except a video game? Now, for others, this child is a well-behaved angel. At home, said child will push every button and make you wonder why you ever wanted children.
Throw in having to help this child learn what they would normally do in school, is a recipe for disaster.
The older ones don’t want to draw attention to themselves during live meets to ask questions. Missing or partially done assignments have become the norm. It’s been a constant battle of taking electronics away so they will turn in homework.
To help them, it has been thrust upon me to relearn eighth-grade math. (Seriously, who uses this stuff in real life?)
“I’ve learned who my real friends are.”
This, I believe, is a double-edged sword. At what cost did you find this out? I feel this last year has driven people apart more than ever. More hate has been spread than I have ever seen.
Family and friends have unfriended each other on social media as everyone argued about masks, politics, and everything in-between. I know I have lost respect for quite a few people (and I’m positive the feeling is mutual) and I will miss relationships we had before Covid.
“We made many memories.”
Yes, we made lots of memories. Memories of more fighting than usual, feeling trapped and isolated. Memories of struggles with anxiety and depression. Watching our children mourn events they will never get back.
And we have a lack of memories of things that should have been: graduation ceremonies, end of school year celebrations, camp, holidays with family. Realizing last summer would have been two of the children’s last year playing baseball, I feel the loss all over again.
“I’ve been forced to slow down and realized what is important.”
You know what I realized is important? Sanity! Something that has disappeared after a year into this damn pandemic. Yes, life at times BC, before Covid, was a little hectic at times, but I would give anything to go back to that time.
Where we could see family who live out of the area, where our kids could be back in a school building. That they could see their friends without any restrictions and be the carefree children they were before.
So, no, I don’t want to hear anymore about pandemic life.
Let’s wipe this last year from our memories. Maybe then friends can be friends again, those that have struggled with depression can find happiness. And maybe, just maybe, my kids will stop trying to kill each other.
My year in review- it just plain sucked.