My wife, Amy, usually writes our annual Christmas year-end review, but drafting a list of the successes of each family member or detailing the summer vacation just didn’t feel right to her given the year of suffering many have experienced. We decided to make an adjustment and allow me to pen my thoughts – since it’s just been that kind of year.
As we’re winding down a year, I often think of the holiday season as a time to reflect and celebrate the hard work that has recently been toiled. Like a farmer who plowed, planted, and harvested is now ready to relax with a table full of the bountiful blessings. The hope of the next year is near, but with a new year comes work, and so goes the cycle and the seasons for the farmer.
As I reflect on this unusual year of work, I’ve shared with so many people how grateful I am to have an occupation that was deemed “essential” by our government. Some wondered why, which is a good question since so many other industries were out of work. But as we learn more about the human condition, we desire and need to seek shelter for our families. And so many buyers did just that in 2020.
The market pumped the brakes at the beginning of the pandemic, but before anyone could blink, it sped into high gear while gobbling up the glut of inventory that sat for so long around the Chicago suburbs. From my vantage point, I could see the fear in the eyes of buyers as they fled from quarantine, civil unrest, and closed restaurants, looking for a quiet neighborhood. My colleagues and I invested in whatever gloves, masks, and booties we could find on the over-inflated market. Creating floor plans, walkthrough videos, and hosting Facebook virtual happy hour tours became the new normal for Realtors. It was one heck of a year.
As for the family, I promise not to brag too much…. Micah, our 17-year-old son surpassed his dad’s height and weight but unfortunately missed his junior year of football due to Covid restrictions. He officially became part of the workforce, at Portillo’s, where they’ll go broke feeding him on his breaks. Abigail, our sweet 16-year-old daughter, enjoys her half days of her sophomore year at the high school while spending her extra time singing in her room or watching her favorite movies. Our 8th-grader Noah, almost rode the tires off of his bike this year, and now is mastering Fortnite and Madden Football. His youth football team canceled its season, but we somehow managed to pull off almost a full season of 7on7 football, and I was thrilled to coach him one last season. My 6th-grade darling Elizabeth, now 11, closed the chapter on elementary school and quickly adjusted to middle school, and all things Covid – including wearing a mask. She is officially taller than her mother. Her favorite pastime is playing an electronic game where she designs a house.
After our governor’s stay-at-home order was lifted, we did manage to do the RV vacation that Amy had been planning in her head before we even conceived a child. We hit the road, traveling over 4,500 miles and visiting many of the western state’s national parks, all in the tight quarters of a vehicle…and with our labradoodle Kenya.
This past year has taught us as a family that we really do love living in our home – that’s a good thing considering we’ve spent so much time in it. We love our rooms where we can close the doors and do school or Zoom. We love our pool where we can relax. We love our space where we celebrate holidays. We love our dining room where we have family dinners. Just like the farmer, it’s time to sit back and enjoy those bountiful blessings.
We hope and pray that you are well and your table is full.