The year that isn’t

For many people, 2020 was the year that wasn’t. Covid, masking, quarantines, social distancing, lockdowns, all added to a mix that had numerous people in my circle feeling isolated and fighting for ways to keep from going bonkers. Especially the extroverted ones who thrive on social and family connections.

These conditions didn’t bother me much for most of 2020. With my more introverted nature, I kept myself busy and satisfied with a host of personal projects. Through an online course I learned how to trade credit spreads for income. I set up a new computer workstation that opened doors for various project ideas. I continued to work on my memoir, produced a demo version for a song as part of a concept EP, completed one or two Pathways levels at Toastmasters, and contributed to the redesign of the TBTC website.

The Zoom meetings I had with my Toastmasters club, the TBTC Board and website redevelopment committee, and my virtual men’s group calls, were sufficient social connection for me.

Then towards the end of 2020 I had a significant health issue flare up. (It wasn’t Covid, if you’re wondering). By December I had lost a critical amount of weight. I had difficulty making it through an entire one-hour Zoom meeting. Two or three meetings a week? Forget that. I felt like I was at a rock bottom yet continued to think I could treat it at home with diet and prescription medication.

A new year arrived and in mid-January I conceded that I needed medical intervention. I spent the next two months in a hospital being treated, and then in rehab before I was finally discharged and returned home.

Three months later I developed a new health issue and I’m back in the hospital. I may require another 6-8 weeks in rehab. This just hasn’t been my day, my week, my month or even my year.

For me, 2021 has been starting to feel like the year that isn’t.