This week many of us here in the US will gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. Although it’ll likely look very different, smaller or possibly virtually, I think it’s still important for us to all be thankful. If 2020 has taught me nothing else, it’s that actually in life fewer things matter than I probably thought in 2019 or 2018. To put it another way; it’s helped me really focus on what’s important and start tuning out the rest. It’s in this vain that I’m doing this post!

A brief review of the year 

It’s certainly been an up and down year with plenty of highs and lows. We had a pretty rough living situation to start the year and needed to make a change. Then this disease on the other side of the world a little too quickly spreads and suddenly it’s in our backyard. I still remember the day our office (and the city really) shutdown. I went out to lunch with a friend (which I never do, #PB&J) and got back to an empty office. Rumor was that someone in the building had COVID and the entire building cleared out, and I did too! From then on it was work from home! 

Of course there was plenty of uncertainty in the early days especially with work. How bad would things get? There were plenty of layoffs amongst friends and family with lots of concern around finances. Things were a bit nuts during the early days of quarantine with Mrs. Money and Baby Money all at the house. There were plenty of conference call interruptions and blocks during the day as we worked with Baby Money Finance. 

Then things seemed to get a little better. We were getting into a new routine and super thankfully found the chance to sell our old house and get a new one. Of course the closing process of actually selling/buying the house was pretty nerve-racking and moving was too, but we made it through! 

The summer and fall were all about getting settled into our new house and trying as best we could do enjoy a slightly less, but still quite quarantined lifestyle. We were able to go to the beach twice – once in South Carolina and once in Florida and were able to stay fairly safe and did our own thing (lots of take-out and cooking). 

The fall saw Mrs. Money going back to working in person at the school that she is at and the students have been back for about a month or so. I’m working from home, and have been told I’m able to do that until August of next year. BabyMoneyFinance’s daycare has been open and thankfully that’s been safe with no outbreaks! 

Slowly but surely we’ve been settling in to this brave new world of 2020. 

Thankful

In reflecting and writing that, it’s a great reminder of who blessed we truly are and as much as I’d like to complain about the inability to do this or that, all in all we’re still healthy and happy as a family – and I’ve learned that’s ultimately probably what’s most important to me. In addition, I’m thankful for a few of the following:

• Health – There’s so much to think and be afraid, or not be afraid about COVID. Although it seems like us younger folks would be ok and not get it bad or not have long-term complications, it’s still not something I’m anxious to get. Thankfully Mrs. Money, myself and BabyMoneyFinance have been relatively healthy all year long and no COVID that we know of!
• Happy – 2020 has also been teaching me a lot about resilience – and how my attitude and ultimately my happiness and joy is somewhat based on me. 2020 has thrown a lot of curveballs at us all, but I’m thankful that I’ve been working hard on having a better, positive attitude. 
• Financial stability – Wow, earlier on in the year with millions of folks furloughed, laid off or let go, things were pretty scary. Although on a broader scale a lot of folks are back to working, that’s not the case for everybody. The company I worked for did a 90-day no-layoff pledge and guaranteed part of our bonuses throughout the year. Thankfully our business bounced back pretty quickly and we’ve had a good year. 
• Emergency fund – 2020 was the first year that I was truly thankful and really reflected on having an emergency fund. No longer was it just the idea of getting laid off; one or both of us, but it suddenly seemed like a real possibility. Not knowing how bad things could be was a scary thought coupled with being unemployed. I’m very thankful early on that Mrs. Money and I set aside around 6 months of expenses in a separate bank account! It helped make that uncertain time less scary!
• Family – although this may seem a little cheesy or obligatory, I am genuinely super thankful for Mrs. Money and BabyMoneyFinance. We’re so blessed and I absolutely love being a husband and a Dad! 

Summary

2020 has been a wild and crazy year. It’s also been a year that in a way has let us all pause and reflect on what’s actually important. In a weird way it’s been kindof nice to slow down and enjoy the simple things in life and in our families that we may have taken for granted prior. As many downs as I’ve personally had this year, there have been also plenty of ups. All in all I’m celebrating this Thanksgiving with a truly thankful attitude!