By Ben Rodgers
Editor

Christmas really came out of nowhere this year.

One day in March, which feels like a week ago, the world is in peril as the COVID-19 pandemic dominates headlines across the globe.

Then summer slowly started slipping away, like a dream you can’t remember as soon as you wake up.

It was defined by a very real lack of grilling out with friends, baseball games and outdoor concerts.

I think we took a lot of nature walks sometime in there, it’s hard to remember.

I briefly recall something about Halloween, followed by a sparsely attended Thanksgiving.

I’m pretty sure I became a birder during this time, trying to slow down and appreciate the beauty I was previously too busy to notice.

Now we are here at Christmas, with the first health care workers in the area receiving vaccines for something that has impacted all our lives for the past nine months, which feels more like nine days.

Without the typical parties and events that highlight a year, it’s difficult to define the passage of time.

Days turn into weeks, which turn into months, this is typical. But this year it feels like hours melting off the clock.

I’ve often felt lost in a dense fog in 2020, defining myself with board meetings and deadlines, instead of quality time with friends and family. That should probably change.

However, I somehow know it must be the holiday season.

We have Christmas trees up, and I experienced my typical frustration using entirely too much wrapping paper for something as simple as a book.

We watched a few Hallmark Christmas movies, there was some homemade chocolate and lots of time in sweatpants.
Yes, I’m sure of it, Christmastime is here.

We all probably wish 2020 would have been different. I don’t know one person who enjoyed this past year.

Our lives have been drastically altered, and we may not return to normal levels of social interaction for some time.

Some of us lost more friends and family than we typically do in a given year. Some of us had real scares with health issues for ourselves or our loved ones.

All of us have been impacted.

If you are lucky enough to be reading this, and you aren’t in a hospital, or you aren’t on oxygen, and your family is still all here, be thankful.

For those who can’t say the same, I am deeply sorry.

But we can’t move backwards. We can only move forward, hopefully improving our lives with the knowledge we gained during this trainwreck of a year.

But I see a light at the end of the tunnel, who knows maybe it’s the Christmas Star.

Try to have a Merry Christmas, we all deserve one.