“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”
If there’s anything the past twelve months have taught us, it should be to hug your family tight every chance you get to.
We have been in this pandemic for just about a year now and for some of us, that reminds us,
“Wow, it has been a year since I have seen some of my family” and although this is a heartbreaking realization, it makes us hold moments of the past close to us.
Days in lockdown have been repetitive and most of the time, we find ourselves trying to keep busy. Baking, working out, zoom calls, reading, online shopping- but while our mind is occupied, a vacant space remains that seems like it can only be filled and cured with the hug of someone we miss.
We truly have to stay on the bright side while without our families close. I personally found myself thinking about moments that reminded me of how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many amazing people, even if I am not physically with them at the moment. My mom has bins upon bins of photo albums and sometimes just going through them all laughing at captured moments of my maskless relatives in their glory days gave me all the joy I didn’t know I needed. I would reminisce about Christmas Day and being surrounded by everyone I love as we laugh at Yankee Swap gifts and read the family journal that has been passed along every year. I’d see a picture of my grandma and grandpa and spending Easter together and remember how we would sit at the table for hours talking about everything under the sun. I’d see a picture of me and my cousins in Maine and think about how we had to wash off our feet inside of a bucket after a long day at the beach before entering Nana’s house again- oh, the things I would do to complain about dipping my feet in sandy ice water again.
2020 has taught us to take every opportunity we have to remind someone how much you appreciate them, no matter how big or small the gesture is. So write a letter and stamp it and mail it to those you haven’t seen in months. Call your grandma and talk about the show you both watch or the new project you’re working on, play XBOX with your brother even if that means being absolute clueless when doing so, sit with your parents and watch “Happy Days” even though you can’t stand that show. Go to the mall with your sister even though you went twice already that week, go on a bike ride with your dad, FaceTime your cousins or create the largest family group chat of all time talk in it often. You will realize that these shared moments or conversations, whether written, or exchanged over the phone are the ones that mean the most in the grand scheme of it all.
The past twelve months have shown us the importance of physical health and taking care of yourself and following precautions, advice from doctors, and make sacrifices to try to end this pandemic. But, it has shown us the importance of family, the gratitude they provide us with, and that moments with them should never be taken for granted.