This Too Shall Pass

December 4, 2020

Another Thanksgiving is in the books and this will definitely be one that will be remembered. Probably not in a positive way for many. The thought of not gathering with all your friends and family leaves a bad taste in many of our mouths. We miss the social aspect of life these days. We have mostly been able to adapt and continue life as usual. But this is not true for all of us. I am fortunate enough to have retired in March when the crap was hitting the fan. My adjustment to a new normal was inevitable. Doing something new was on my immediate radar and I have been exploring that ever since. I have many friends and know many business owners that have adjusted and some have prospered even more since the pandemic. The need for technology has skyrocketed and now our grannies are on zoom meetings and watching their church services on YouTube or Facebook. Technology is the backbone for those things so that industry is stable or has grown and exceed their expectations. Those, I assure you, feel blessed to be in that industry. And then there are those that have restaurants or are in the travel industry. Themselves and their staff have been decimated by this horrific virus. It has changed their lives forever. Many will not make it through the end of the year. For them, they are still thankful for many things but there is a strain on their life that is hard to bear. For them the vaccine can’t come soon enough. They have adapted with takeout, curbside, etc. but it’s just not enough. For all those impacted in that way, we should all keep them in our thoughts and prayers. We get to read history books and we think about what life must have been like during the Civil War, the roaring 20’s, the Great Depression, World War II and so on. Well now we are living in what others for generations will be reading about. I’m sure we have all read about the pandemic in 1918 and compared it to what we are going through now. Who knows what life will be like in 2021 PC (Post Coronavirus) and beyond. What will be the new normal? Many of our adaptations will stay with us because that’s how we move forward as a society. Many of the things we loathe will be shed it like a snake sheds it’s skin. One thing I hope we never shed and shy away from is our need for fellowship and being with others. This whole life thing is all about relationships. It’s what God intended for us and it’s what makes us the happiest. We all experience this fellowship in different ways. Being around others, meeting new people or seeing old friends and shaking their hand, seeing people’s faces at the grocery store and seeing a hello in their smile. These are all good but as for me, what I could use right now is a big hug! So what do we do in these times of quarantine and social distancing during the Thanksgiving holiday? I was able to get my Christmas cards on order over the past week. I always enjoy putting that together around places we’ve been or experiences we have shared. Unfortunately, 2020 was a little slim on travel. We did get to celebrate some milestones so those are worth a shout out. My oldest daughter graduated from Virginia Tech in its first and hopefully last virtual graduation. We are proud of her and excited about the next chapters in her life. She has started work at a regional oncology center and so far enjoys the work. She is planning on going back to school in 2022 to pursue becoming a PA (Physicians Assistant). She also turned 21 in September so a milestone birthday for her. My youngest daughter is in her second year of college in general studies and also celebrated a milestone birthday when she turned 18 this past summer. We are also very proud of her and hopefully she can find some direction and figure out what she would like to do later in life. She’s young and she’ll figure it out. Back to the Christmas card....this year I focused on Christmases past. I dug up some old photos of the girls when they were small in front of the tree or opening gifts and then 2 or 3 from our annual family Christmas photo after the Christmas Eve service at our church. We will not be having that service this year so I thought I would relive some old memories and share them with our friends and loved ones.

We are now in the season of Advent. Take time to focus on the reason for the Christmas season and celebrate the meaning the Advent. Christians like to associate each week of Advent – and hence each candle in the Advent wreath – with a particular theme. The four candles represent Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. The center candle is the Christ candle and is traditionally lit on Christmas Eve. Whatever your beliefs, I encourage you to think of each of the candles over the next 4 weeks and how you can impact the lives of others. The meaning of each candle and simply living each theme out in your life is just part of being a better person and taking advantage of the time you have here on earth.

To wrap up, my life has definitely changed and adapted since March 2020. I went from owning my own technology company (along with a great business partner) to selling that company and exiting and now trying to figure out what to do next. Obviously from my website you can see where I have landed and where my time will be spent. I was in the finance and technology world for 28 years so this is quite an adjustment. I have learned a lot about photography over the years with great workshops with some great professionals (many of whom I have listed on my website) to just plain taking a lot of images and learning what my style is. Still a long way to go, but regardless, I will enjoy the journey. Everyone stay safe and know that this too shall pass.