Goodbye 2020

December has come and gone, and with it a crazy year. May this next trip around the sun be much better than the last. May we be healthy and kick covid's butt! 2021 won't magically change anything, but it at least give us motivation and hope. 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to spend the holidays with my family in Alicante, since we decided it was too risky. So, my roommates and I made traditional Christmas dinners from our respective countries, and the favorite dishes that we miss. We made the apartment festive and had video calls with out families on Christmas day. The rest of break has been relaxing and uneventful. I've finished 4 of the 5 1000+ piece puzzles I got for Christmas-- I just love doing them! haha ;)

We even got snow!! Logroño got snow, like actual snow that stucks to the rooftops! I was so overjoyed! It's nothing compared to Iowa snow, but it made me happy. 

On a somber note, my uncle passed away from covid two weeks before Christmas, shortly before the vaccinations started. He was healthy and active, and continued to social distance and wear a mask when many did not. He still had to go to work though, and of course there were probably people there who didn't care. Who thought it wasn't a big deal. Who only though about themselves. I hope one day they will realize the need to care for others. The funeral was virtual and my cousin video called us so we could be there for the burial. It was rainy and cold at the grave site, and there were lots of tears. 
I'm no stranger to grief, and this isn't the first time I've grieved without any family around to hug or hold, but this has been very, very hard. I think I'm grieving multiple things at once. I'm sorting through the emotions from this year, from covid, from missing family, from the injustice in the world.  It's definitely made the holidays bittersweet in many ways.

So while I'm taking time for myself, I'm also looking forward to the new year.  I'm looking at the hopeful things, the positives and being grateful for what I have. 
My roommates and I are planning to have dinner together tomorrow night to ring in the 2021. My hope is that we may be healthy all year! Here's to vaccinations, masks, social distancing,  and video calls. Here we come, 2021!