2020 What a shit show.

 SO this year, it's been such a difficult year, that I haven't had much of a desire to "re-live" it by writing about it.   BUT..it hasn't all been bad.  I'll start with the good things.... 1st) Emily is doing quite well with her college courses.  She isn't on campus this semester & quite honestly it's been nice,  she hasn't had to navigate campus living, and all that entails ALONG with the added stress of Covid-19.  She's been able to concentrate on just her classes.  She has yet to get her mid term grades back BUT...all evidence supports that she's doing well.  The professors have until the 13th to actually put the grades up. I'm sure she's doing good.  She's been getting up on time, on her own.  Seems to be completing all her assignments, etc.  She absolutely loves all her professors & is trying to get to know her fellow college-mates.  That's the hard part, but some of the professors let the kids go into 3 or 4 student break out sessions, it's during those they have a bit of a chance to get to know one another.  At least that is what I've been able to get out of Emily... lol.  We've been trying to give her as much independence w/ college as we can since that's how it would be on campus.  SO aside from the occasional trying to get info from her, we are pretty much leaving her alone about it.  2nd) We have enjoyed having Brian at home more.  He's been working remotely.  In many ways, it's made life easier.  His work is a long commute & he used to not get home until quite late, & then dinner was late.  Not to mention the financial strain the long commute caused, it's one side effect from this covid crap, that hasn't been completely bad. I never have to worry about not having a ride to work either.   3) We actually had a nice little weekend vacation to Lake George NY the end of August. It was part for my birthday, part for Brian's passion for hiking.  It's always been a hobby of his, but over the last few years it's become an even bigger passion. He really LOVES it, not to mention it's been a safe activity to do during the shutdowns & virus!  It's hard, because in NJ there's only so many places he can hike that he's actually interested in hiking.  Brian likes cool views, with higher elevations, & just experiencing new hikes.  SO that often requires a bit of traveling to new places.  Over the last couple years he's been having to branch out to further destinations.   Anyway.  It was fun.  We went on a dinner cruise.  We felt pretty safe.  They had pretty good safety precautions, not to mention it was a bit of a rainy day, so the area around the pier and on the boat wasn't busy at all.  We wore our mask & social distanced.  The best part of the dinner cruise for me, was that they had these performers.  Just a man & a woman singing like classics.  They sang songs like, "Don't Stop believin'" , "You're so Vain" etc.  Emily was quite the ham & we were on the 2nd deck & you could actually see the performers who were on the bottom deck.  Emily had the best time singing along!! I enjoyed witnessing her happiness, it made me happy to see!   Most people assumed she was just lip-synching because she was so good.  BUT.. no she was singing & quite entertaining at that.   At one point the song, "My heart will go on" was sung & I got a cute video of the contrast of Brian & Emily's reactions to the song.  Emily was joyfully singing it & Brian who's not happy & pretending to blow his brains out, cause he hates that song.  I just questioned the person's logic of playing that song during a cruise.  LOL! It was fun, dinner was pretty yummy and all you can eat so while it was a bit expensive it ended up being worth it, not to mention, since we were pretty much in lockdown from the virus or months & we haven't done much or been out really, it was quite a wonderful escape from reality.  One must have a bit of fun!   BUT...I did feel like we appreciated it more because of not doing much of anything the rest of the summer, aside from one trip to the shore, we stayed home to be safe. 4) One of the other good things that's happened this year is that Brian continues his weight loss journey.  It's been over a year now & he's managed to not only lose well over 100 pounds but to keep if off!!! The weight came off so fast I was a bit worried about him maintaining, BUT because nearly every day he does 2 a day workouts.  It's allowed him to maintain.  I'm very proud of him!  I wish I could say it's rubbed off.  It hasn't.  While it might not be fair, & I'm completely & honestly proud of him, it hasn't done much for my own self esteem.  Being I feel like a fatty.   BUT... whatever.  One day.  Hopefully I too can be ready to improve my self.  2020 has been a difficult year & I'm a stress eater.  SO this perhaps isn't the time for me to improve that part of myself.  Not that I need to tell anyone about how this year has gone.  Anyone living it knows it's been a real shitty time.  In March when every thing started going to shit in a handbag because of Covid 19, our state along w/ NY were I believe #1 & #2 in cases & we took that serious in our house.  For the most part, we still are.  BUT... maybe we've in ways have become lax... we are still doing the social distancing & mask thing, but aren't as worried about cleaning everything a million times a day like in the beginning.  It feels lately as well, our family along w/ others I see are just exhausted more now then before.  I don't know if it's the long hours sometimes in mask or more likely just tired from stress over it going on7 months & counting.  As of today, there have been over 205,000 death, & well over 7 million cases just in the USA, as of this morning,🍄rump & the first lady are part of that statistic.  YUP... 🍄RUMP has COVID19!  After all his boo-hooing wearing masks & social distancing & his stupidity over this all being blown out of portion, despite all the evidence of otherwise... This morning,  he himself the Grinch... he himself has gotten it.  Karma.  I don't mean to sound un-sympathetic but it's hard to be sympathetic to someone who has been such the opposite to the masses of people who have died from this horrible virus, &  to so many other people during his presidency and quite honestly his lifetime.  Even at one point saying, "It is what it is" regarding them.  So... I'm not going to be up at night worrying about him.  To say I'm not a fan of this administration is the understatement of the year.  I can't wait til Joe Biden wins & if need be has the 🍄rump's forcefully removed from the White House,  I'm feeling a bit more hopeful of that happening & that scares the shit out of me.  I was so hurt when Hillary lost in 2016 & it's hard for me to be hopeful, but it's what I'm feeling.  🙏 Praying hard that Joe Biden/Kamala Harris win this November our nation needs it,  I need it! I think even people who don't realize it yet.. .need it! Our nation can not keep going the way it is.   There's so much more I could talk about... the embarrassing 1st presidential debate, Trump showed himself to be on his worst behavior EVER.  Ruth Bader Ginsberg passing away, she'd been sick and as sad as it was, it wasn't entirely shocking, still completely devastating & the timing couldn't have been worst.  This leaves open the opportunity for 🍄rump to get another conservative judge on the Supreme Court.  UGH! I'll leave it here, I'm getting too sad to continue.  Much love every one! Let's all try to keep our heads up & fight for a better tomorrow in what ever ways we can. 💓