2020

 I have had our Christmas tree up for nine days now.  At the time we put it up, there wasn't another empty space available.  After we got our room back on Wednesday, Shelby asked if we needed to move the tree, to which I replied, "Nope."

This tree has significant meaning, and not just because Randy surprised me with it in such a heartwarming way.  It is almost a tribute to 2020 itself.  I don't know if you can tell, but there are two sections of the tree that do not have lights.  I did my best to hide the fact with garlands wrapped in twinkle lights, but the absence is still glaringly obvious.  Such is 2020-- we make do with what we have.  I would have loved to have had our painter come on time, have our carpet arrive when it was supposed to, but they didn't.  Such is 2020-- sometimes we just have to wait and endure.  We have to walk around it and look past it from many different facets of our main level.  Such is 2020-- sometimes you just have to look past the restrictions being placed on you, no matter how much they get in the way of normal life.

And like this view from our front door, I will look back at 2020 and remember that when I really look at it, really take time to see, I will realize it was perfect for us.  It wasn't something that I would have ever chosen for myself and may have only happened because we had to adapt and change and wait, but it turned out better than anything I could have come up with on my own.  Family time spent laughing around our kitchen table.  Individual time spent helping my kids learn, as well as enjoyment in the learning myself.  Projects done around the house that got us more organized and de-cluttered to live more peaceably in this home.  And this tree, truly front-and-center in our home so we can't forget for even one second the reason for the season: Our Savior, who is carrying us all during this year we will always remember.  Our 2020.