I hope you're all sitting in the comfiest spot, wearing the comfiest outfit, and finishing off the most creatively combined leftovers masterpiece after a half-a-week of feasting, friends, and/or family. Maybe you had an abbreviated version of the Thanksgiving meal (don't knock the Stouffer's frozen turkey dinner, it's a tradition in my family), or maybe you got to have all your fights via Zoom this year, or maybe you don't observe and just got to enjoy the lull in regular activity for a couple days. However you spent this week, it's always a time to start reflecting on the year behind us and the one that's yet to come.
It's basically cliche at this point, how tough 2020 has been for most folks. From the global to the most personal, everyone I know has had to deal with challenges they didn't see coming, and we're all pretty sick of hearing the word "unprecedented." What strikes me at the end of this year, though, is how profoundly grateful I am for the people in my life, even though I haven't seen most of them for more than 8 months...
And I'll start with the two lovely ladies I'm on this business adventure with! This past year, I've been reminded time and again how lucky I am to have a support network of smart, dedicated, creative, and tenacious friends. M&M in particular have had to hold me up when I'm ready to fall down and nudge me back onto the right path when I veer off into outer space. I couldn't think of two people I trust more to do the right thing and work until the results are just right, and I'm pleased as can be we'll be riding into 2021 together.
Even more than those two, and the rest of my incredible friends, I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had this year to see people climb their way out of the lowest points and turn things around. From grief and loss to accidents and personal health scares to career disappointments to loneliness to parenting in a pandemic to separations and divorce to marriages and big moves--the year has been intense, and I'm grateful for the grace and strength and perseverance you've all shown that helped us all get from there to here. Y'all are tough, and I'm thankful to be here with you.
Who can say if 2021 will be better, but I think we can all agree it will be different. Whether you spend the next month bundled up in a holiday cocoon or working 70 hours a week or fumbling through whatever the end of your virtual semester looks like, I hope you have people in your orbit who make you laugh and help you start again when everything gets to be too much. In the next few months, many people will be looking for a new start, both personally and professionally, and having the right crew to support you can be the difference between failure and success. At this thanksgiving time of year, be grateful for the people around you, even if they're still a video call away.