LOST OR MISSED IN 2020

The cover story in the December 18 issue of the Guardian Weekly was about the lost year of 2020. One of the family newsletters we recently received listed all the things the sender had "missed" this year: a bridal shower, a graduation, two weddings, a conference. Christmas and other holidays like birthdays and anniversaries come around each year. It's one thing to miss an annual holiday since most of us will still be here next year for a return to the usual get together. But too many families have lost a loved one, and their family gatherings will never be quite the same. 

There are certain milestone events that come once in a lifetime. I felt sorry for a few friends who became grandparents for the first time, but missed cuddling a new baby while the young family stayed strictly isolated. Our church congregation was all set to celebrate its centennial year with several special events. Of course we can still hold the events when it's safe to do so, but the bicentennial year will not come around in any member's life-time. Celebrating year 101 is not quite the same. 

Two of our neighbors, Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, won the Nobel Prize for economics this year. But instead of traveling to Sweden for the pageantry and drama of the Nobel celebration, the Swedish ambassador in San Francisco came to the home of one of them (they live across the street from each other) and presented the certificates and medals in their garden. It was a convenient outdoor venue that could accommodate a few masked family members and guests. I hope they're recognized next year in Sweden, but that won't be quite the same.

The presidential inauguration in January will be held virtually, without the crowds in the Mall, the parade, and the many balls that traditionally follow the swearing in ceremony. Joe and Jill Biden have already experienced two traditional inaugurations 12 and 8 years ago when Biden became the vice-president, but this is Biden's year and the virtual celebration will be quite different.

I don't cling to tradition as much as many people do. A little change is a good thing, and sometimes celebrations become more and more complicated each year. Halloween is an example. Will a child really be scarred for life if he or she didn't get to go trick-or-treating this year? We haven't been as strongly impacted by the stay-at-home mandate as many people have been; there have been positive factors to our restricted life-style. But like most everyone else, I look forward to a successful vaccination program and the end of the pandemic. Here's hoping that we all find our way again in 2021.