We all made it through 2020! I’ve been reading highlights of 2020 from my friends on Facebook and Instagram. Even though this year has felt hard in so many ways, reading the joys has been so beautiful. I thought I would share some of the bright moments that this year held for us as well. As I scrolled through my phone to pick – there were too many to choose from. TOO MANY good moments and it made me cry.
In a year that felt so dark, I forgot about all the joy that also filled so many days. The highlights for us in 2020. The biggest dream come true for me out of this has been more time with my extended family. I would say to John often how much I adored our family time together and how I wish it was more of a priority for everyone. Life happens… we all get too busy. Well, God slowed us down a bit in COVID and gave us time almost every weekend with my whole family. We had decided early on that we would be each others group of support throughout this and try to limit exposure to others as much as possible. It was a gift I hope never stops – the cousins grew closer. I grew closer to my nephews and nieces. Such a special gift!
We started the year with a trip to visit our friends Marcie and Bobby in South Carolina. We were so thankful for that last trip before the world shut down. We try to visit them every year and a year without their face to face friendship wouldn’t have been the same.
The week in mid March when COVID shut down the world, we were supposed to close on our first ever commercial property. We ended up having one delay after another until it closed in June. Which was a huge blessing because we didn’t have to cover a mortgage and rent at our storefront for quite as many months.
Shortly after the shutdown, we decided it would be the perfect year to add chickens to our homestead. New life and baby animals were a great distraction for the kids throughout the initial isolation.
We took the slower work months and finished our kids bathroom March-May. Finishing just in time to close on our new building at the beginning of June.
June 2 – August 2 we spent what felt like every waking moment working. We completely remodeled 3 floors of our new building (if you haven’t seen it, you can check it out here: https://funcycled.com/category/funcycled-stays/) We would joke that if we were going to lose so much of our lives to work, it might as well be during the year when there wasn’t much fun allowed anyway. :)
We opened up the airbnb, and then, at the end of August we went away to our annual Ocean City Vacation. The world felt normal for one sweet week. Sunshine, swimming, family, and delicious food. This is a yearly tradition I enjoy so much!
In September we added our kitten Phoebe to the Trop-stead.
We also decided to home school this year. A very tough decision; how would we juggle it all? But it’s one of my favorite new changes in 2020. I love having more time with my kids and I love that we have flexibility to do more when John is free or has a slow week.
We got back to work in October converting the 1st floor of our building into the storefront that we would move FunCycled to.
We decided to risk it and go on a trip to the Grand Canyon early October for my birthday to get some much needed relaxation from the hard year. The price was right and my brother was going so we joined. Little did I know, that would be the worst decision of the year… because I contracted COVID, became a super spreader, and while hiking in 7k elevations and glamping in the dessert, I realized this wasn’t just a cold… I couldn’t breath. With no health insurance, I was hospitalized in Flagstaff. We then couldn’t fly home because I found out I was definitely COVID positive. Let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like a 36 hour drive across the country with COVID and pneumonia. That took everything I had and all the prayers of every friend to not lose my mind. I came through it needing counseling, with greater compassion for anyone who has to endure this, and realizing some relationship changes that needed to be made. It was a true eye opener. It took 2 full months before I had energy back. Once I was off quarantine, tired or not, we had to finish the storefront because our store lease was up at the end of November. I cried many days and night, but you know what? It’s done and for that I’m thankful! Grand opening was December 5th!
Once that was done, we decided to not add on any house or work projects outside of what we needed to pay the bills. Having weekend free this month has been so wonderful… so rich and filling. When 2019 ended, I had pulled back on many of my commitments. I felt like God wanted me to focus on family and business in 2020. I had no idea why then, but I believe He was lovingly preparing my heart for what was to come. He allowed me to let go of so many things that would have felt like they were taken away by COVID. The conviction to focus on family and business became truer than I could have dreamed. We started marriage counseling. We had time with the kids to work through character development, not just academic and having fun. John and I both grew in a way I don’t think we would have without a year like 2020. So… for all of this and more, I’m choosing thankfulness and I’m finding joy to end 2020.
What are you all thankful for in 2020? I love hearing the good so please comment below!
Thanks for being the best funcycler’s around!
Sarah Trop
