What have I learned from 2020?

 First of all, much of what I have learned deals with politics and wondering why people react in the way they do, and I will not go into that at all. Discussion closed.

But what have I learned is a lot about myself. The main thing seems to be a realization of how little I actually need, in any way. And so much of what I need, I already have.

Most importantly, I have a loving, close family. Norbert and I celebrated our 29^th anniversary in February. Yes, it has been an adjustment having him home all the time now, but we have not had any trouble coping with it, and are enjoying the time together. Our son Lucas and his girlfriend live nearby and we have close contact with them, and frequent visits. And I still have close contact with my brother in the US – thanks to email and messaging and FaceTime. Not to mention having spent time with him on vacation in January.

These relationships are the main sources of happiness and satisfaction in my life.

I have learned that I enjoy my work in pro cycling. I have loved working for the Israel Start-Up Nation team in this bizarre sports year, writing about everything from a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem to our first appearance in an Arab land race, to winning races, to staff delivering groceries during the Italian lockdown to previews for the long-delayed Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana. 

This work gives me something to do – because I am most certainly not doing it to get rich! – and I know that my writing is appreciated. I have gotten to know many interesting new people, and even taxed my brain trying to think of ways to preview a Grand Tour stage other than “flat stage, boring, mass sprint”. :-)

What else? Less is more. 

I love clothes. I love to look at clothes and I love to buy clothes. I have bought very few clothes this year, virtually none. Yes, partially because the stores have been closed so often, and I do not like to buy clothes online. But also because I realized that I don't need any more clothes. In fact, I have done major culls on my wardrobe. My lifestyle is such that leggings and jeans and casual tops are appropriate 99.9% of the time. I do not have a minimalist wardrobe, I see no point in going through life with two pair of jeans and six t-shirts, or whatever. But I certainly do not have clothes exploding out the wardrobe when I open the doors.

This philosophy has also extended to our furnishings and other belongings. A lot of knick knacks have disappeared. Those which remain do so because they have a deep personal meaning to us, as opposed to “just being decorative”. Our Christmas decorating consists of a few candles, an Advents wreath and the decorated tree. The days of decorating every available surface are long gone.

Part of this, I suspect, is due to our age. Time to cut back, to simplify, to shed ourselves of unnecessary “burdens”.

Grocery shopping has becoming interesting (quite apart from the distancing, masks, etc, aspects). Can we go to the store only once a week? (Rarely, unfortunately.) Which store do we go to? The very large supermarket with the best prices and selection and the most customers, or the smaller store where we don't feel so pressured by others in the aisles?

And what to buy and how much to buy. How long will a package of 10 toilet paper rolls last? How much toilet paper does one need? How much do we actually need to use at a time? And so on, with shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, flour, sugar, you name it.

Then there is the question of “hamstering”. Better buy 3 or 4 packages of TP, before it is unavailable! No, thanks. Yes, we do already have 2 packages in the basement, I always keep a supply of such things on hand. Two are enough, I don't need to pack my shopping cart full. And I do not stock up on things out of fear that they will be out of stock in the stores when I need them, but to try to limit the number of times I have to go to the store.

Then there's traveling and vacation. We love to do both. We love to vacation in the US. However, we will not get on an airplane to go anywhere and especially not the US, until we feel it is safe concerning COVID. I very much hope to get over for my high school reunion next September.

We were in the US for two weeks in January, and spent five days in the Netherlands the end of September. That's it for 2020. I do miss the vacations and the planning but nearly as much as I had thought I would.

I realize that we are fortunate enough to live off our savings and not suffer from not having income. That we have all remained healthy, both physically and mentally. And that we have everything we need and want. Perhaps coming to these realizations is the only good thing to come out of 2020.

2020: The Year in Review

 What is there to say about 2020, other than that it has certainly been an odd one?

The most important thing is that my family has come through the year happy and healthy. I know that does not hold true for everyone.

We started out our year with out annual winter trip to the US. We had a lovely cabin at Myrtle Beach State Park, S.C., and were joined by my brother for several days. We plan to repeat this – some time!

We arrived home on February 1, which was officially Norbert's first day of no work. The decision had been made to close his firm, and that we would live off our savings for several years until he became eligible for retirement pay.

And shortly after that the world started turning upside down. A Karneval gathering in our Kreis (county) turned into the first COVID hotspot in Germany. Our local schools closed that month and stayed closed for weeks.

So we moved into the routine of wearing masks on those increasingly rare occasions that we left the house, staying home most of the time and getting used to the fact of a major shutdown.. And listening to our American friends all saying, “oh, you poor things”, while being confident it would never happen there.

This means that most of our year has been, shall we say, not newsworthy. Amazingly I got quite a bit of cycling work done over the summer and fall, which I quite enjoyed. My team, new to the top ranks, had a few large successes, so it was fun. And Norbert and I did get away for five days the end of September – noticing that Netherlands was starting to close down various states due to COVID. But we were lucky and enjoyed our few days away.

Our family grew this summer when Lucas and Michele adopted a dog – Anton is a lively Magyar Viszla, who is still going through puberty :-). He has won all our hearts, well, except for Amy.

Eventually we again had Lockdown Light and just in time for the holidays, the hard lockdown. We will still celebrate the same as ever, just then two of us with Lucas and Michele. We are grateful that Lucas has contined to work the whole year, staying healthy and getting his full income. Again, that has not held true for everyone.

There are few activities to report on this year, but there have been a multitude of experiences and new ways of looking at things – which I will write about later.

The Second Big Lockdown, December 2020 - January 2021

 This is a translation of a local news report, as to what is and is not going to be open from December 16  to January 10.

These are in addition to rules currently in effect, for example, masks required virtually everywhere outside of the home, no touristic overnight allowed, limited numbers of persons in stores, etc.

Remaining open: Grocery stores, wholesalers, Christmas tree sales, weekly markets, pet supply stores, delivery services, kiosks, laundromats, drink markets, apothecaries, dry cleaners, post offices, health care supply sores, drug stores, banks, opticians, hearing aid stores, gas stations, and auto repair shops. Restaurants may continue to offer pick-up and delivery only.

Closed: anything involving physical closeness, such as hair dressers, cosmetic studios, massage, tattoo studios, etc. (gyms are already closed), other stores offering non-essential goods or services, such as DIY/home improvement stores which were open in the first major shutdown last spring.

Children should stay home from school. Schools should be closed, as well as kindergartens. Parents who must stay home to tend to children should be offered paid leave. There will probably be “emergency” kindergarten and elementary school gatherings for children who cannot be cared for at home, including children of medical workers. 

Two guests allowed at one time, they must be from the same household. For 24-26 December, visits of 5 persons in the close family are allowed, but still only from one other household Children 14 and under are not counted in this.

Gatherings on New Years Eve are forbidden, other than the 2 persons from one household visiting. Fireworks are forbidden, as is their sale. Drinking alcohol in public is forbidden.

Employers are asked to either close for as much of this period as possible, or offer “generous” home office opportunities. Medically required treatments such as physio are allowed.

Churches, synagogues and mosques and other religious gathers may offer services when participants stay 1.5 meters apart, and wear masks. Group singing is forbidden. If a large turnout is expected, participants must register to attend.