The Good Things

This year is a perfect example of this scenario.  Let’s face it, no one saw this coming and when it did, no one really understood what it meant or how challenging it was going to be.  The change to our lives, our families, our relationships, our workplaces and our mental health was unpredictable.

So, when we are faced with so much that went wrong, it is often helpful to have a look at the good things, the times where we shone and where hope remained.  Here’s to the best of 2020!

Twenty things that were good in 2020

1. Australians showed that we never forget with many holding candlelight dawn services in their driveways paying their respect to our returning servicemen and women and never forgetting those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
2. Young people showed us how resilient they actually are by pushing through with their studies in the face of immense stress and social isolation, great jobs guys, you proved that you are so much more than your ATAR!
3. Air quality across some of our most densely populated cities drastically improved leaving many unrecognisable. Cities like Delhi saw blue skies for the first time in many years and the Himalayan Mountains could be seen from Jalandhar (not sure, ask Jason Snell!)
4. Lockdown across the world gave our animal friends the chance to explore our cities. Goats roamed the streets of Ireland, bears the streets of Canada and the Bees of Notre Dame were found to be alive and thriving.
5. Captain Tom Moore showed us that you are never too old to do good, walking 100 laps of his garden to raise money for the NHS during COVID-19 marking his 100^th
6. Water quality improved, marine life returned to the canals of Venice and fish stocks rose across our oceans.
7. We adjusted to working from home creating a better work/life balance for many and we got to work in comfy clothes!
8. We adjusted to teaching our children at home creating a renewed respect and understanding for our teachers! Homeschooling, um yeah, nah!
9. Virtual platforms became our essential lifelines, allowing us to connect with those who we could no longer spend time with, imagine if all we had was snail mail…..
10. Our essential services continued to do that, provide service. Continue to support your local businesses people, they really kept us ticking over during this time, keeping things tuned and running whilst facing uncertainty themselves.  Local small business owners, we take our hats off to you!
11. Drive-in movies made a comeback and many of our idols invited us into their homes for impromptu free concerts!
12. We all got to see some places in WA where we probably wouldn’t have gone before giving our own economy a much needed boost and enjoying the fun of being a tourist in our own State. Well done to those who relocated to remote and rural towns seeking employment where there was none in the city.
13. Everyone bought bikes. Bike shops boomed when many were about to go bust and our fitness benefitted too! Next space for employment, bike repairs!
14. Our healthcare workers worked tirelessly to keep us all safe and well and when no one could be with our relatives when they became unwell, our doctors and nurses did. So proud to be the mother of a nurse.
15. Putting the rubbish bin out in fancy dress actually became a thing!
16. The Hemsworths invited all of their friends to isolate in Byron Bay, nice one!
17. Families spent more time together than ever playing board games, cooking and baking and going on one by one teddy bear hunts as people put their favourite stuffed toys in the windows for children to find.
18. We learned that we found it really, really hard to get by without our favourite sports to watch but as Ash Barty put it so aptly, we also learned that “there’s more to life than hitting a tennis ball”.
19. America showed us that they were still a country that could have a democratically elected President, they just need a hand to move the old one out! Anyone got some spare time in January?
20. Our friends and our club rallied around us to support us when we needed it and to keep us feeling connected, “how lucky are we!” (K. Smith, 2020).

So, as we approach the end of the year, surround yourselves with those who you care about and who care about you, reflect on the year that was but don’t let it define the year that will be and most of all, don’t be alone or a stranger, there’s always a friendly face down at our beach.

Pam Bubrzycki