Warm cheers from our family to yours for 2021
2020 is SO last year.
It was a year we’ll all remember, and that many loved to hate online and in the media.
It was a year that demanded tremendous strength and commitment from front-line and health-care workers, and teachers, and grocery and food service workers, and regular parents like you and me.
It was a year of tragedy for far too many, and we will remember the people we lost and support those they left to mourn them.
But it was also a year that taught us many important lessons: chief among them, to appreciate people and things we previously took for granted. And that should include ourselves.
Congratulations – you made it!
Before you shake off 2020 and launch into the promise of a new year, take the time to give yourself credit for what you accomplished this year.
Maybe you didn’t lose the 10 lbs or double your RRSP investment as you had planned. But did you keep your family moving forward through the pandemic? Did you manage to juggle work and kids and their school?
It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t perfect. That is HUGE, even if many others around you are doing it, too. And you should pat yourself on the back for it.
A 2020 celebration list is in order
Really, write one down! It’ll make it feel more real… because it IS.
This year, despite having had to close for a few weeks and then having had to re-organize our entire business, we made some cool things happen.
Here’s just part of my Brightling 2020 celebration list. We:
- kept our kids’ favourite “circle time” happening even while we were closed, via Zoom
- built a whole new natural play yard on the side of our building, featuring a horizontal climbing wall and a beautiful mural by local artist Alex Plante,
- welcomed new families and got to know our existing parents so much better
- offered new resources to Brightling parents, special events like mindfulness and stress management webinars to monthly articles on this website
- created new ways for Brightling families to beat stay-at-home boredom, through online concerts and family yoga, and take-home activities like paper gingerbread house kits and home-made play-dough
At the time, these things felt like “just keeping up” – but looking back, they are things my staff and I are proud of having been able to do.
Before you launch into the new year, take the time to recognize just how much you were able to make happen in 2020. It’s astounding, really. Congratulations!
With warmest wishes for 2021,
