Kim Frencken: What does 2021 look like to you?

Well 2020 was certainly one for the books. I saw a meme on social media that really summed up our caution about 2021: Tiptoe into 2021. Quietly. 

Sounds like good advice. 

 All I can say is that I hope 2021 will be better. I'm not blaming anyone. 2020 was just an overload of "life happening." 

 
Let's just say that 2020 was a screaming bully. I don't like to be pushed or pulled along. I'd prefer a gentle nudge. Or a suggestion. I don't mean that I am slow. Once I get an idea I'm off and running, but I don't like to have unreasonable demands placed on me forcing me to do what I know I should or could but in ways that don't make sense. 

 Every time a new 'mandate' came down the pike, I'd find myself cringing and wishing I owned an island in a remote region where I could bask (undisturbed) in the sun all day. Since that wasn't going to happen, I'd have to face reality. Do a little crying and screaming of my own, then deal with it.

Is that what 2020 felt like to you? A constant tug of war? At times I felt like I had lost all common sense. And at other times I felt like I was the only one who had any common sense left. I don't like turmoil or conflict and here I was living in the poster child for turmoil. Could anyone agree to disagree? 

Could anyone resolve conflict like an adult and not a two year old stomping their feet? I've begun to doubt it. How many of you have had to turn off some social media notifications or maybe just unplug all together for awhile? So much negativity and name calling. So little understanding and compassion. So much "it's my way or the highway." So little of respecting each other's ideas (even if they differ from ours).

Here's to the hope that 2021 will be a more gentle year. 

(For more of Kim Frencken's writing, check out her blog, Chocolate For the Teacher.)