I was looking at last year’s blog - 2019 in Review - and marveled at the length of it.

I had recovered from spine surgery, spoke at a few conferences, saw a concert at Red Rocks, started a new job, and got to interview one of my radio idols.

A lot went on in 2019. This year…well, not so much I guess, but here goes.

January chilled us as usual in the suburbs of the Windy City. I traveled for work and visited our offices in Michigan (during a snowstorm no less). I embarked on coordinating happy hours for employees in our HQ. For those of you who know me, you won’t be surprised that I looked forward to these not only because I get to bring coworkers together in a fun environment, but also I got to make playlists and DJ these events. Every week was themed, so I threw together songs that worked for the occasion. I was surprised how much fun I had when we did a Mardi Gras theme. I discovered a song that is now my favorite called Let’s Go Get ‘Em by the Rebirth Brass Band. And for a real treat, watch Jim Carrey walk onto Stephen Colbert’s Late Show to it. Such a fun song.

Around the middle of January and all through February, two key things happened. First, we planned a trip to Italy scheduled for April when I’d be turning 50 (what…how). Soon after we had booked our plans, a news story had hit that some sort of virus from China was making its way across Europe. There was speculation as to how bad it was going to get and almost overnight Italy went from a handful of cases to 300. My hubby immediately suggested we cancel everything. Turned out to be a good, albeit disappointing, decision. By March, the world was shutting down.

I threw coins in this fountain in 2009, so I know we’ll go back some day

The second thing that happened was that I got really sick with an upper respiratory bug that plagued me for weeks and eventually turned into pneumonia. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so horrible in my life. I couldn’t sleep in bed at night because the wheezing in my throat and chest kept me awake, so I spent nights on the couch, sleeping sitting up. I had a cough that lasted months after the whole thing was over and by that time, the world was in chaos.

Anything we had planned for 2020 got postponed indefinitely. Almost everyone started working from home full-time. We lived in fear of going to the store and we wondered what the future held. And somewhere in there, I did actually turn 50.

Still reeling from that milestone.

In April, we also lost our dear boy, Wilbur. It was soul-crushing, especially after we had lost our other boy, Buster, just five years earlier.

The next six months on the calendar were filled with crossed-out concerts (no Brit Floyd, no Ministry, no Run The Jewels, and no Green Day) and instead were filled with doctor appointments for my father-in-law, who had arrived in May from Bangkok and remains with us until they open back up to tourists (or in his case, an ex-pat who lives there). We took a week and went to Florida, taking all the necessary precautions with our family. Planes were only at 60% capacity, we had rented a private home, we went to the store maybe twice, but mostly just floated on a noodle in the ocean that was just outside our window. It was a necessary break from the monotony.

And yes, I did spend an extraordinary amount of this year finishing my novel (one of many to come), Tame My Racing Heart. I worked with a cover artist and she knocked it out of the park — or race track in this case. For a sneak peek, sign up for my monthly newsletter - my subscribers get to see it before the rest of the world.

Then in October, a new puppy. Louie, names after Lou Reed (one of our favorite artists — I walked down the aisle to Perfect Day, and yes, this version). He was not the pup we had gone to see but he was the pup we chose. Or rather, he chose us.

I also started learning about the business side of self-publishing, filling my head with keywords, newsletter jargon, and started to advertise on social media.

I binge-watched some great television — Queen’s Gambit, Space Force, Utopia, Angel (my third rewatch of the series), A Discovery of Witches (my second go at it), and what might be my favorite show of all time, Schitt’s Creek. Ew, David.

And here comes 2021. It can’t get here soon enough with the year we’ve had on this planet. If 2020 has given us anything good, it’s perspective. Of what’s important, of what we can and can not control, and how to find joy in the little things. I hope you, dear reader, find your joy and wish you all the best in the new year!