Like all of my fellow humans, I am thankful to say goodbye to many things from 2020. There was so much hurt, disappointment, chaos, anger and pain. As I scrolled through my newsfeeds this a.m., I was struck by how forcefully we all wished away 2020.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m ready for so much of 2020 to be over!
But I also challenged myself to look back through my photo feed for 2020 and find 10 unique/amazing moments. I wanted to seek out the joy amidst the hard. What I found surprised me.
I had 7 amazing, unforgettable, unique and special moments before I finished 5 months of the year.
So, I challenged my three big kids to join me in scrolling through their photos and determining what it was that made 2020 special, unique, and wonderful. Like me, when they really though about it, the challenge became narrowing DOWN their joyful moments, not coming up with them.
I have no doubt that 2020 can (and should) be remembered in a sobering fashion. We had our share of losses in this year too.
But as we continue to learn, life is never just completely one emotion … grief and joy, hope and fear, gain and loss .. it always seem to walk hand in hand. I want to take a few minutes in these fresh moments of 2021 to start our family’s year off by remembering joy amidst the pain.
So, as the kids sled on the (mostly icy) snow in the backyard together, I’ll take a moment to encapsulate their memories … and when I have more energy (staying up until midnight is TRICKY these days), I’ll coax it out of Joshua too.
Kayleigh’s Top 5 Moments of 2020
The COVID 19 boredom ice bucket challenge
The most special Destination Imagination team ever assembled … The trilingual shrimp cocktails
Learning to really snow ski this year (and doing the Caberfae Ski Days with school)
Being a Bridesmaid in The Rush Wedding
Getting to dress as splat for Central Kids Zoom Around the Zoo
Benjamin’s Top 5 Moments of 2020
His Baptism at Central Wesleyan Church on January 12, 2020
The most special Destination Imagination team ever assembled … The trilingual shrimp cocktails
Going to SpringHill Camp for a week (even though it meant he almost never saw his sister and things had to look very different).
Learning how to drop a ski and working on his water skiing skills at the cottage
Going the Ark and the Creation Museum with his family friends
Madeleine’s Top 5 Moments of 2020 - Interestingly, Maddie Mae had trouble picking specific events. So, she chose concepts that referred to more general experiences. I thought this was very wise, in its own right. Rather than single out a moment, she capitalized on the collective experiences.
Going the Ark and the Creation Museum with his family friends
Going to Maranatha with my friends
Being able to watch more movies with my family (Over Thanksgiving 2019 we began our march through the Marvel Comic Universe thanks to our Disney+ subscription. And, thanks to the pandemic we could accelerate how fast we watched them)
Being able to see my family a lot more (and spend more time with my cat)
Being able to go outside a LOT more
Mom’s Top 10 Moments - I gave myself 5 more moments since so many of my moments encapsulate beautiful things for kids. I felt like it was fair that I could double it, to save room for the beautiful things that warmed my hear for the sake of my kids AND for the sake of me as an adult. (They were mad, but, eh … Moms get some perks)
Without question, watching your children walk in Truth if the best gift any parent can receive. So, Benjamin’s Baptism tops my list of incredible events in 2020. Also, he looks so incredibly old and handsome in his pictures (super shallow, but every time I am struck by how that little boy is looking more and more like a young man).
The Lunar New Year Celebration at ZCS was by far our best one yet. The entire school was able to take part in some portion of the celebration! Our Mandarin students were able to celebrate as one unit as well (the video of them counting down the new year all together and banging on the tables and cheering warms my heart) with the Holland Christian International Students. That same weekend the kids were able to perform at an outdoor event downtown in conjunction with the Grand Rapids Asian Pacific Festival.
Coaching the Trilingual Shrimp Cocktails DI team with my friend, Ben, was a complete joy. My only regret is that we were robbed of lots of in person time with them. We continued meeting via Zoom long after the tournament was called off - and the relationships we formed them are still really special to me (and to Kayleigh and Ben… see their lists)
The compound adults stole away in mid- February, just a few weeks before COVID locked everything down. This trip was something we had been planning and dreaming about for years. We went “early” according to our original plans, and we were so thankful that we did. Had we gone with the boys had their actual “big birthdays” we never would have left the country.
The Rush Wedding was not what Andrew and Rebecca had originally planned. So much had to be scaled back. But their commitment to keeping the wedding party in tact (and allowing our kids to be able to participate) was incredibly moving. Without question, the outdoor wedding, scaled back, was incredibly beautiful and wonderful and brought us some of the best moments of our COVID 19 quarantine
Summer at Maranatha - again, modified to fit the pandemic guidelines - was unique. It isn’t what anyone really wanted, but it wasn’t canceled. Our kids were able to be with their friends, enjoy the grounds, grow together, and continue the relationships that shape who they are in so many ways.
School in person - We know so many people are choosing to stay at home and continue virtual school. We also know many wanted to be in person but their schools were forced to close. We felt so thankful that ZCS maintained in person schooling for 17 straight weeks. There were students and staff who had to quarantine; the all day masking is not our favorite thing, but the being together with our treasured teachers and friends (and not balancing work at home and school at home) is a blessing I will NOT take for granted, ever again.
Soccer was not canceled. AYSO and GVSA both worked really hard to allow kids to play soccer safely. The kids wore masks while on the field and during practice. Spectators were very limited, meaning each child could only have 2 people watch them play. For a family of 6, with small children, this was tricky. BUT, we made it work!
Dance was not canceled. For most of the fall Kayleigh was able to take her dance classes in person (with limited attendance AND masks). The studio worked really hard to think outside of the box and create a solution for recorded performances so that the girls had things to work towards while training so hard. We were also blessed by some friends of ours, with the gift of a Marley Floor. Kayleigh was able to transition to dance at home very seamlessly when the cases surged again, and in person classes were suspended.
Compound New Year’s Eve. For the 17th year we met the “compound” for NYE. We have been meeting together EVERY.SINGLE.YEAR since Steve and I were engaged! We haven’t missed a year, not matter what. While this year could not look like it always does (with lots of puppy chow, champagne, Catch Phrase, and laughing at New Year’s Rocking Eve), we still managed to get together, outside and socially distance so that we could maintain our traditions.
If you made it this far through Team Van Dyk’s joyful reflections, I hope you’re inspired and encouraged to review your 2020 and find the hidden moments of joy amidst the grief, the pain and the losses.
Here’s to more moments of joy in 2021