As I sit here on a date we won't see for another four years, I can't help but wonder how many of us are feeling like 2020 is already a little suspect. In addition to our personal losses, we've experienced the loss of public icons who've played significant roles in our childhood and adulthood memories. Weren't we just enjoying fireworks, wearing silly glitter-covered 2020 glasses, singing Auld Lang Syne and clinking glasses as we toasted to a new year and new decade? Yes, fam. We did that, at least I did. Some of my neighbors were so excited for the new year, they set off fireworks for several weekends beyond January 1.
Yet, my social media timeline has been filled with quotes about January being the longest year. We might as well throw February in there, too. These months have been filled with all of the doggone things. It's an election year. I could stop there, but I won't. The political process is filled with debates, tension, opposing views among family and friends, and this year, an impeachment process. It's not pretty, but it's our form of democracy and people get prickly quickly. Airstrikes and other political tension abroad. Australia's wildfires. And now, the coronavirus, to name a few.
Twenty-twenty came with a massive dose of reality, and it stings. It always does. I remember January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on live TV. On February 11, 2012, one of the greatest voices of all-time, Whitney Houston, left us the night before the Grammy Awards. At those times, I felt like those months were the longest, yet here we are, still. I've noticed that when the world experiences tragedy, setbacks and loss, we often get wake-up calls for the better. We love out loud a little more. I know I've been intentional with my time lately, and recent events have prompted me to call that friend when they cross my mind, put away after-hours work to play basketball and video games with my kiddos and savor the moments.
Bad things will happen. Tragedy will come. And, if we're blessed to be here to get through those times, that's a precious opportunity that we can't take for granted. Until we Leap again, I hope you get busy living, loving, risk-taking, making dreams a reality, holding your loved ones tight and inhaling every breath you take for all its worth. In 10 short months, we'll clink the glasses, don the glittery 2021 glasses and watch the fireworks usher in another year. When that happens, we can honestly say hindsight is 2020. Don't let 2020's hindsight be anything less than remarkable. Let's get it!