New Year’s is one of the few holidays that I look forward to every year, as it typically consists of a night-long celebration with friends and family.
I look forward to dressing up and spending time with the people I’m closest to, as we say goodbye to one year and usher in the next.
It’s a time filled with hope, as we all eagerly anticipate the countdown to a better year — or so we tell ourselves — no matter how easy or difficult the current one was.
For many of us, 2020 was one of our most challenging years. We’ve lived — and are still living — through a global pandemic, which has resulted in economic hardship and loss of employment for many people.
With COVID-19 cases still surging locally and across the country, the New Year’s holiday became the latest tradition to feel the impact of the virus.
Instead of engaging in festive celebrations to mark the end of another year, the overall feeling was relief that one of the most challenging years in recent memory was finally coming to a close.
For example, one needed to look no further than Times Square in New York City, a tourist destination that is usually packed with more than a million people on New Year’s Eve, which looked like a ghost town this year.
Like much of the world, my New Year’s celebration was also a muted affair this year. And quite frankly, I didn’t mind it at all.
It was nice to take a break from the crowds and craziness that comes along with a typical New Year’s Eve. Instead of having to push my way through a block of people for the opportunity to purchase $13 cocktails at the bar, I was able to pour myself a glass of wine from a bottle that cost about the same as I would have paid for one of those tiny drinks.
I spent the evening working out at home, finishing just in time to catch the final countdown to the ball dropping in Times Square.
While other New Year’s Eve celebrations may have ended with the hassle of having to drive for up to two hours — depending on whether I was meeting friends in Connecticut — this year I was able to still keep up with what my friends from back home were up to through text, while watching the latest show I’ve been binging on Netflix (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce).
It turns out I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t missing the yearly excitement. One of my best friends texted me: “last year, we were at Foxwoods! So crazy,” to which I replied, “And this year, I’m already in my pjs.”
“Same! Lol,” she said, shortly after the clock struck midnight.
“I don’t mind it, haha,” I replied, which in hindsight, probably isn’t all that surprising, considering how all of us have had to adapt to such a different lifestyle this year.
It’s simply become normal to spend most of our time at home, either alone or in cohabitation with whomever we live with.
For me, it’s been a welcome reprieve from feeling like I always have to be in motion, when many times, I’d rather just allow myself to recharge at home after a long day.
This year, although I’m sometimes guilty about feeling this way, has been a blessing for me in many ways. I’ve been able to get back to taking care of myself, which has come about through allowing myself to take a breath and slow down.
While, before, I may have felt, at times, like I needed to keep up with the seemingly enriching social lives of people around me, I’ve remembered how to enjoy my own company and fill my days with activities that I actually like.
Whereas, others may be at their best when they are constantly interacting with other people, I’m able to recharge through a series of solitary activities at the end of the day, particularly engaging in daily workouts, watching TV, or reading a book or magazine.
With the promise of vaccines becoming available for the majority of people by the spring, we will no doubt be returning to some semblance of normalcy in the coming months.
As much as I’m looking forward to that happy occasion, hopefully we’ll all remember to take a breath and focus on the ways we’ve learned to take care of ourselves during this extended period of quarantine when we’re plowing through the hustle and bustle of our daily post-COVID lives.
On a lighter note, good riddance to 2020. Let’s all hope that the optimistic New Year’s Eve mindset of looking forward to a much better year finally comes to fruition in 2021.