This was going to be the year. I was in agreement with so many others – 2020, it just had a nice ring to it. I started it off with a bang – breaking up with (or getting dumped by) my boyfriend – followed by booking the bucket list trip (to the Laplands for the Northern Lights with my best friend of 25+years) – and you know the rest.

Just before “the rest” really set in and people were still – dare I say – having fun with it – I had a birthday. Turning 30 at the beginning of April and celebrating via Zoom with my closest friends and family was, actually wonderful. Sure, it wasn’t the birthday party I finally stopped saying I was going to throw myself, and booked at a nearby Irish pub – but it was, looking back, the best way to kick this very long pandemic off.

I’ll always remember the time I convinced my closest loved ones to take a quiz about me and play virtual bingo. And I’ll also promise to never do it again.

I had it in my head that I would at some point write down all the things I think I have finally grasped – one way or another – this year. They mainly fall in to two general categories (with a few outliers); staying connected (who didn’t learn a few things about that this year?) and self-care (I hate cliché words, but we are). Maybe we’ll go with staying connected and wellness.

The pandemic, whether we liked it or not, stopped us in our tracks. It forced us to quickly re-evaluate what was “essential” to us, and how we lived. It forced us to think about some things earlier (or later) than we would have liked to. But it also provided us a whole lot of time. Time to ourselves, time with others, time outside, time in our homes, and plenty of screen time.

I started using some of that time (mainly in the morning or when walking) to think, and often times writing notes on my phone. Sometimes that’s all these “brain dumps” end up being – notes on my phone and sometimes they turn into a piece like this.

This note turned into a list of 30 things “I’ve learned” this year. It may be better to say it’s really just a list of things I’ve come to appreciate and understand on a deeper level this year. It goes without saying that I’m sure this list could go on and on but for now it’s a list of 30.

1. Family and friends are the same thing.

I think this one goes without saying and I usually like to remind my friends of this multiple times a year. But this year really confirmed this one for me.

2. Being single is a wonderful thing – if you let it be.

Sure it’s easier to say this once you are single but even before my last relatioship, when I had been single for many years – I always felt this way. This year was a good reminder to myself.

3. Treat yourself.

As in buy yourself things. Or save up for that one nice thing and get it. As my nana would say “you can’t take it with you”. Also save. But don’t forget to splurge a bit on yourself.

Note: you can also treat yourself without buying things. Take that extra 20 minutes to get outside or call a friend or do something for yourself (highly recommend a detox soak) in the middle of the day.

4. Try not to rush. Or at least plan as much possible.

I get easily flustered when I’m running late. And unfortunately given my fast heart and POTS diagnosis, stress no longer suits me well. I’ve discovered after many days of rushing (typically to nowhere but behind a schedule I had created for myself to get out the door and start my day) that planning ahead is clutch. These days it takes me a solid extra five minutes to gather my masks, gloves, paper towels, hand sanitizer, you name it. Even though I have most of the stuff ready to go or in my jacket already, I’m always running behind. I’ve found for me, if I’m trying to do something early in the morning it’s best to lay everything out the night before (flashback to high school) and not rush in the morning. If it’s not an early morning thing, I’ll usually just build in some extra getting ready time ahead of when I’m aiming to leave these days.

5. Lucy.

Speaking of fast hearts, I have a 17 year old dog who has been diagnosed with a heart problem for more than half her life. I believe it was around 9 when the vet thought she was “slowing down” and around 11 when she renamed Lu the “everlasting dog”. Lu had a second wind to her loyal dog life right around the time I moved home for a year in between apartments. Between my mom (who talks to Lu all day), my dad who walks her 2-3 times a day, and frequent (or even year long stints living home) from my brother Brady and I, Lu is still going strong!

Though I would be lying if I didn’t say att this point it’s pretty clear she’s slowing down. But every time I think to myself that this dog is 17 (18 in August) and is now riding out a pandemic (with me back home most nights mid Pandemic) with my parents and I, I’m amazed. And every time she comes up to me with her ball to get me to play I laugh. I usually kick it at her a few times and she chases or pounces on it. Depending on the day we either play for five minutes or just one minute – however long it takes for her hacking cough to come. I remind her to drink some water. And I’m reminded, of course everlasting isn’t really an option for a dog. But I always end with a smile knowing that Lucy definitely figured out loyalty and it sure helps that she’s still having fun kicking around her plate of food or ball. I should add that 9 out of 10 times she comes right back after her water break for round two.

6. Mark every occasion.

I learned this one awhile ago without realizing, because it was just what we do. Any family birthday, holiday, milestone – we marked, and usually in style. I’m talking about family – which as you know includes close friends. This fortunately meant a lot or gathering throughout the years. We have our own traditions – just like every other family. I could list them all but it’s impossible to choose a favorite. Sometimes they’re a big to do or sometimes it’s just an intimate family dinner at home.

The two occasions I recall marking just before lockdown are, my dads birthday and a joint dinner with my brother Ry, my mom, and my dad – to treat Ryan and I for our birthdays (early before I left for my trip). Both of these weren’t full family group dinners but I’m still so glad we did them. My parents had just moved into their new apartment facing the river a week or the week of our family dinner to celebrate his birthday. His sister Kay was even able to join us from Hingham and we had a great night with all of us. Ry, my parents, and I also met for that quick dinner more as a last minute idea (my parents always treat us kids to dinner for our birthdays) ahead of me leaving for my trip in a couple of days. We tried out a new restaurant in Brookline – not knowing it’d be the last time eating at a restaurant for a very long time.

The lesson here is, had we just skipped out on both of those, it likely would have been even longer before gathering. Marking occasions gives us something to not only celebrate once it arrives but it gives us something to plan and something to look forward to. I could go on and on about this topic because I’m a big believer in celebrating others (and ourselves!). Quick note on the planning part as well – we were due to celebrate one of my other best friends bridal showers last Spring – which gave us an excuse to “plan”. Planning for this meant meeting up at a brewery to scope it out and then go to eat at Eli’s Kitchen. Again, the lesson – mark every occasion, or at least plan to. It’s half the fun.

Final note, I could do a separate post on all the occasions or milestones that were celebrated in new ways this year. But it would take forever – so I won’t. What I do know – is that they provide their own little constant countdown for what to look forward to next. And turns out – even if it’s that Sunday zoom with your family – they can be pretty hilarious and refreshing.

7. Be transparent.

This ones quite simple. It takes a lot more work to try and beat around the bush (i.e avoid confrontation?) than it does to be transparent. If I had to make a list of ten sayings most heard from my Ma (or MB to some), “we’re transparent in this family Megan” would fall around 3 or 4.

I think I used to think being transparent just meant talking about others. But it’s really the exact opposite. It’s telling others what you’re thinking or how you’re feeling – so they don’t have to guess (i.e assume) for you.

I put this on the list after I found myself early on in the pandemic quoting my mom to myself. “Be transparent” I’d think to myself before telling my friend or a cousin that I was too nervous to hangout just yet. It sounds really silly but when you’re a bit of an anxious person, sometimes a reminder is helpful. Sometimes I even opened my texts with “in the spirit of transparency” followed by my reasoning. Again, I could write an entire post on being transparent – but just know, it works! Thanks, Ma.

8. Stress can take its toll – if you let it.

This is an important one. Turning 30 obviously also just means I’m getting older and so is my body. A lot of what I would say you can read in any article or book about your body and the price it pays for stress – cortisol – the buzzword there. I think everyone got a bit of an extra dose of cortisol from one source or another this year (the pandemic, the news, the administration, the blatant racism and white privilege that continues to be an issue in America, work, being home more, isolation, etc.).

I may be a bit more in tune with my body than others due to my medical conditions but the more I talk about stress with friends (stress in general and all forms) “aches and pain” seem to be a common denominator. I won’t try and get into the reason this is a thing scientifically but it turns out that their is a direct correlation (according to my quick google research). Therefore, it’s best for all of us to keep stress levels as low as possible. I am, of course, not a doctor.

One of my personal favorite ways to detox my body from the stress is to soak in what I believe the internet just calls a detox bath. For mine, it includes lots of epsom salt, a few drops of eucalyptus oil, and a bit of baking powder – with really hot water. I typically soak in it for at least 20 minutes (according to google you should do at least 20 minutes, then let it sit on your body once out of the bath for 20 minutes, and then shower) followed by a shower. I highly recommend pairing this with a mason jar full of lemon water and my go to podcast, Armchair Expert.

9. Gratitude

We all hear this buzzword quite often. We hear about writing a list of what you’re grateful for each night and keeping a journal. I think it’s a bit cliché – but I do think that gratitude is extremely important. For me, I’ve found it to be more beneficial to show my gratitude in ways to people I’m grateful for instead of keeping a list. For others, writing that list is what works for them. I think whatever gets you to take a moment and reflect on the things you’re grateful in your life at a specific time, is what you should use your energy doing. A few of my favorite ways to express gratitude are below (10, 11, 12). Don’t forget to also include yourself on the list at times.

10. Send cards

This became my thing this holiday season. I was looking for a creative outlet to burn some of that time I mentioned earlier. Writing cards (and printing old pics/new pics to go in them) became a hobby of mine. If I’m being honest, I didn’t finish making all of them yet – but I decided there are no rules anymore, so I’m sending them when they get made (eventually).

Cards though, are a fantastic way to express gratitude. I wrote about cards earlier so I won’t get too deep into it. In my opinion cards are an opportunity for a rare one way conversation – allowing you to tell someone all the things you’re grateful for or whatever it is you’re celebrating – without them getting embarrassed and cutting you off (I’m absolutely guilty of this myself).

This winter I decided to take advantage of that and write to my closest loved ones and created goofy cards to go along with holiday notes. It’s really fun and I can’t count how many people texted me in response to the cards saying how much they loved them – time well spent. So, I’ll continue to spend some of that time to send cards when the occasions are meant to be marked.

11. Call and text friends

If I weren’t lazy I would try to analyze how many text messages I sent in 2020 compared to years past. I bet it had to be at least double. Majority of these were to the same 15-20 people (not including my family WhatsApp groups – a league of their own – that I love) daily. Sometimes, it was just a string of articles that I anxiously sent via the NYT warning of the next wave or strain or trading adorable photos of the littlest generation (and animals). But mostly it was the constant checking in on one another. Something I would be lying if I said hadn’t already occurred pre pandemic – but I knew that was rare.

I think those daily conversations still occurred but at times they adapted. I had some conversations with close friends of mine this year – that I’ve known for 10+ years – that we’ve never had. I spent hours on FaceTime, at times doing nothing other than keeping each other company as the day dragged on (hey, Kels) and hours on Zoom.

It feels really good to have those conversations and know how many people you can pick up the phone and call or text or video call and how many people want to know how you’re doing but for me what feels even better is checking in on others. I don’t mind if that means I have to send a few texts without hearing back – all my friends know, that those texts are just a string of thoughts that made me think of them – and when they see them later they’ll simply be reminded I was thinking of them.

Maybe the takeaway lesson here is – send those messages or calls or signals to loved ones when you’re thinking of them. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that a lot of comfort this year came from knowing just how many people cared about us. I think I’ve always known this but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded (yes, a common theme in this list).

12. Cook and share.

Even if I learned this lesson as a direct result of making way too much food, I’m glad I did. The pandemic made me immediately double every recipe I cooked for my parents and I. I used to do this with a few regular meals of mine (soups, etc.) but now it was everything. Including baked goods. That’s where the sharing came into play.

I kept doubling the recipes but there’s only so much food a fridge/freezer can hold and three people can eat. I started packing up some food and hand delivery it to a cousin or sibling or friend or the stranger I walk by every day on the Esplanade. Those they I kept in touch with always let me know how much they appreciated the food – again, time well spent.

And those that I couldn’t hand deliver too, sometimes just received a picture of the finished product with one of those texts saying “just made this recipe and think you’d love it” (hey, Jeff/Kate). Trading food and recipes are really just a way to keep in touch and feel connected (themes, right?) with our loved ones. And I think it falls at the top of my list.

13. Travel.

Seems weird to throw this on the list of things when the year started off with cancelling my bucket list trip, right? Sure. But, I probably did more mileage this year than I did any other year, just between my parents place and mine.

I really put travel on here because looking at old photos and trips we went on or the daily reminders on google or Facebook memories from trips past always made my day. It was a treat to relive some of those times all across Europe or here in the US with my friends and family. I feel so grateful to have those pictures and memories and that freedom to explore – at my fingertips – so soon again. Next time I travel, I’m going to up my photo game so I can remember every little detail.

14. One day at a time for everything.

If I’m being honest, this always feels like I’m stealing from AA when I use this phrase and so I’m hesitant to use it, out of fear of offending anyone. But this year it really did become super useful, in personal daily life. It was the first time in years that there were moments or flashes where I’d find myself feeling jealous or feeling sad that it wasn’t possible to predict the next time I’d be in the same room as my immediate family.

Therefore I decided, for me, the best way to go about this pandemic was simply one day at a time (not so simple). I mean this as in, sure let myself be sad about not knowing or not having that trip booked but then remind myself, it’s a pandemic – simply focus on getting through it. Christmas season without my brothers, aunts, and cousins for the first time in 30 years? One day a time. Or as I kept telling myself and my aunts “it’s just 24 hours and we’ll never do it again”. I truly think I have it down now and I really do just focus on the current day and getting through it safely. It’s also important though to find those ways to connect and express gratitude to yourself and others and not just simply get through. We have to find ways to enjoy these long and unusual days – which I think we’ve all done. For me it’s simple days with friends and family outdoors or cozy days and nights at home with my parents and Lucy cooking a delicious meal.

15. Go to therapy. And talk about it.

Normalize going to therapy. Like we do going to the gym or going to any healthcare provider.

But also, I enjoy therapy and it’s wise to put that in writing. So others that might need to hear it, hear it. I have been going to therapy for a couple of years now and finally found someone that I – connected with – the buzzword again. I think this was just as important as it is in any relationship where you’re meant to share things and be honest with one another.

I think people are often embarrassed to admit that they go to therapy, out of fear of seeming like they must be crazy then, right? But I don’t really see the how it’s any different from seeking the guidance of a specialist for a medical condition. Therefore, I’d highly recommend therapy to anyone and everyone – even if you have no issues to talk about. I’ve found that at times some of the best conversations in therapy, begin when there are no issues and you’re simply looking to just explore and learn about yourself. I find that I’m constantly learning new things about myself; my priorities, what makes me tick, who I want to share my time with, how I want to spend my energy, and what I hope to do in my life.

16. Be active.

If I don’t move during a day – I pay for it. I have way too much energy (hey, ADHD) and prefer to get it out by being active. My umbrella goal is to do a soft 10,000 steps a day on average. Typically I hit this or if I don’t (see #17) I’ll “make up for it” in my average from other days. The reason for this is because after 30 years of guess and check, I have determined that I feel better when I’m active. I sleep better (see #18) and I have a higher mental capacity throughout the day (see ya, brain fog) and I enjoy the actual act of being active.

My go to activity is of course walking like I’ve mentioned. The walk from my parents to my place is 80% along the Esplanade. This has become my place throughout the pandemic. I could likely walk it (depending on the variation I take that day) with my eyes closed. My favorite stretch of this walk is right along an area that google refers to as a lagoon. It’s right before it opens up to the river leading up to the Mass Ave bridge coming from the Hatch Shell direction. Right at the end of the lagoon is a black willow tree that my cousin Maggie spread some of my aunts ashes at. Each time I walk by I say a little hello and then I admire the many swans that gather in the shelter of the lagoon, before venturing out to the river.

And one other area I’ve come to admire during my “covid walks” is the Riverway which I routinely walked prior to the pandemic. I continue to walk the Riverway on mornings or afternoons that I’m staying or at my place in the Fenway but I discovered a few new things about the river mid pandemic, thanks to being active. Two worth noting are the Blue Heron’s that remind me of my Grandma Florida and the white squirrel (who reminds me of my Nana/Baba) who I spy once in a blue moon at the tree atop the turn at the Riverway loop entry. If this is starting to start a bit spiritual, I guess that’s part of it. Being active is in a way, my way of being spiritual. It’s a way to get outside alone with your thoughts and connect with nature. I’m a big fan.

17. Listen to your body.

This is especially important when being active (see above). Sometimes we get so caught up in our workouts or being active or even just the daily grind that we forget to use our best barometer of how we’re feeling – our bodies. And more importantly, we forget to listen to them when they do their jobs and signal to us that they’re tired or aching or need a rest from staring at a screen. I find it to be so useful to start paying attention to those signs and even trying to track and see if there are any trends in how your body feels after certain activities or habits (sleep, meals, etc.). Listen to your body, it’s the only one you have! The next few lessons are things I learned simply by, listening to my body over the years and more importantly, not ignoring those signals.

18. Sleep.

I typically sleep eight plus hours a night, quite soundly. I get up to go to the bathroom most nights but then drift back asleep. I tend to take melatonin (especially during the pandemic) and I’m sure that also helps. I don’t have a lot of insight on falling asleep but I have come to put two and two together that if I do a few of the things on this list, be active and pay attention to my body, I tend to sleep well.

This year, I’ve prioritized my sleep, even more so this year, and made it a habit to get in my bed a lot earlier than I would have years past (routinely). Not to mention, the benefit on the immune system. I think we all have our own sleeping grooves that work for us and if we give ourselves enough time to figure it out, we can. I should also added that this year I got in on the trendy weighted blanket movement, and whether it’s that or something else, my sleep has really improved.

19. Mornings are the best (for me).

Sleep, leads me to the mornings. But really #19 is about finding your best time of day and taking advantage of that time. And, don’t forget to use some of the time on yourself. For me, this time has become mornings. I should add that I try and make a point to not spend mornings scrolling social media (but definitely do at times) as I find that’s not a productive way to wake up.

No matter if I’m at my place or my parents, my mornings typically start somewhere in the 6 am range. I don’t mean start in a sense that I’m getting up and being active at 6 am (though I did check off that phase from my Covid trends) but I do start my mornings by waking up and reading in bed. Recently, I decided to add a basic NYT subscription to my phone and that’s become my morning tradition. I’ve always been a big newspaper person and definitely miss the tangible editions of my favorites (The Boston Globe and NYT) that I’d read many a mornings in college (hey, Christine) and at work (before I started working home a couple of years ago).

20. Drink water.

A lot of my lessons, may have been slightly forced. And I’m glad this one was. I’ve mentioned my POTS diagnosis and turns out that one of the only ways to relieve some of the symptoms of POTS is via increased water and salt. So I’m all in on the water (and salt) daily. I fill a mason jar with lemon most days and keep filling throughout the day to stay hydrated. Somedays, if I get caught up in something I’m working on or if I’m not in my usual routine, I’ll forget. Those days I can always tell and I always end up paying for it. So, drink water. It certainly helps overall in feeling good.

21. Write more.

This seems obvious. But it was also encouraged. I have always been a writer and not necessarily the best at expressing my full ideas in conversation. I tend to get distracted by something else that comes up in the flow of the conversation and forget my points at times (don’t we all?). Typically that’s fine because I’ll just go with the flow. But also at times we do want to form organized thoughts and share them with others, and for me I’ve found writing to be the best way to do that.

So, I’m hoping to continue to write. It’s another way to spend my time that I have on my hands and do something productive, for myself. It’s also been a great way for me to track events and thoughts I have while I continue to spend my time. As mentioned, sometimes the writing lives in a different place outside this blog. It could be a scrap paper that I later toss, a note on my phone, a text to a friend, a letter I send, or a journal I keep.

But it’s also the act of writing. Not just the text that comes together by the end or the draft that’s developed. It’s really about taking that time to sit down and get ideas down that’s beneficial. Yet again, time well spent – for yourself. Sharing your writing at times with others, is just a bonus.

22. Read more.

This one is often on my goals for each year and there have been plenty of years that I definitely didn’t achieve that. This year I did. I don’t think I’d be only person to say that at times I was without a doubt, consumed by the news. But I prefer to get my news via text. So I resort to reading (the paper as mentioned) just about anything I can get my hands on.

I think many of us found ourselves reading to learn this year more than ever. Learn about what we could do about the horrible things we are reading about or seeing on the news we consume. I don’t think we’re ever done learning and I think this year provided us that opportunity to join a movement of people promising to do better, to learn, to read – to educate ourselves on the ugliness of America – and to figure out how to change. So, this year – if you didn’t read more – at least about one of the many movements of this years events – I’d be concerned. But luckily, there’s always this year – to get reading and learning and changing.

23. Work at your own pace. Or on a flexible schedule.

This one I started to figure out, likely in college. But that was a different kind of pace. I’ve applied this to adulting a bit differently. I work in marketing and I’m paid to work 40 hours a week and expected to work to finish all of my tasks. I typically do work most of those 40 hours between the 9-5 spread but I think it’s important to again, listen to your body. If you wake up with a headache and you think a shower would help, jump in that shower – don’t worry that it’ll be 9:30 by the time you’re out. The work gets done. That’s really the goal.

I’ve discovered that by letting myself be more free, like going outside for that extra long walk if I’m feeling energetic during the day, is well worth working late or working early another morning. Again, the work gets done. I find more and more people working unconventional hours and getting creative with the structures of their days, now that most of it is spent at home. I also find that this in some way makes me more focused and in the zone when I do sit down at my desk and the work gets done more efficiently so I think I finally found my other groove. The work groove.

It’s worth noting, that I had a bit less of a blow to the system when the pandemic came and the work from home league got a lot larger. Luckily for me I had already been working at home for a couple of years and was ahead of the game. So that definitely helped with adapting to the 2020 work life.

24. Things are out of your control but you can do your own little part.

We all watched the horror of 2020 unfold in front of our own eyes. Some of us watched different views of these events and each of us have our own perception but for me, I call it horror. On so many levels.

There was a lot of hate in the world this past year and it is still here – in plain sight. It’s impossible to list all of the events that unfolded as a result of the constant driving source – hate (and anger). Attacks on people for the color of their skin, not attacking people for the color of their skin, attempting to strip away the rights of a person simply because of who they love, all driven by (and made possible by) hate. All lacking empathy and not a whole lot of rooting for people (see #28).

The pandemic made these moments even harder for many. If I can’t join my friends at the BLM march, how can I show my support? It seemed like the only option to show support was by joining but I came to realize that I could do my own part – my very little part – from home. I attempted to absorb as much knowledge as I could about issues I needed to learn more about and I supported local movements from a distance.

It’s incredible how creative these organizations that fight against these injustices we see time and time again were able to get in the middle of pandemic. I really applaud them both locally and nationally. I found it so easy to go online whether it was social media or google and find local organizations that aligned with my personal values. They make it easy to find ways to support them and their work from afar in a variety of different ways.

25. Never assume anything about anyone.

This one should be obvious, but I think this year made it even more easy to grasp. Time and time again we heard about loss and people losing loved ones, people that were separated from their families by distance, people living on their own in isolation, people frightened, people that lost their jobs and weren’t sure how they’d feed their family or pay their rent, and people that were simply exhausted. So I decided to revert back to that golden rule. Or actually maybe I did assume but I assumed (or attempted to as often as possible) the same thing all year, people were exhausted. It helps me to think before I react in anger or out of frustration (though I do at times slip up like we all do).

26. Be kind.

This deserves an entire website – and I still wouldn’t do this one justice. But this is by far the most important goal of each of my days. Sure, at times I may do or say something a bit unkind – but being kind can also mean, apologizing for those ugly moments. The only other thing I’ll add is that it takes way less energy to be kind than it does to be mean – energy well saved.

27. Ask questions.

You know all that time you have your hands that I keep mentioning and those daily conversations you have with your regular circle? Start asking questions. I have a friend who is absolutely notorious for their fantastic question asking skills (hey, Caite) and I often think of Caite when conversations get dull.

It can be really interesting (or switch up those same convos once in awhile) to start asking questions you’ve never thought to or never remember the answer to even though you know you’ve asked, especially with all of us attempting to connect from a distance. I’m still working on this one, but I do know that I’ve learned more about each one of my closest loved ones this year, without a doubt.

28. Root for people.

Strangers, old friends, new friends, neighbors, hospital staff it feels good. I could leave it at that, and pretty much will. But this is just a simple reminder – in not so simple times – to root for people. Of course, only if they deserve it. I frequently found myself rooting for people I had been close with in the past or even strangers I had never met, this year when looking for joy and hope. I think it’s important to celebrate that hope and root for one another – near and far – friend or stranger. In a year with so many dark days, cheering people on was just one way to brighten some of those days.

29. Public speaking isn’t too bad.

This is on here simply as a reminder to myself and as a direct result of my brother Brady’s wedding that I officiated (and wrote about earlier). But I’ll be happy to let my brother Jeff takeover for family occasions again once we’re able. I’m extremely excited for my second gig officiating my dear friends, Sarah and Kaighin, wedding ceremony in the Fall!

30. Tarot cards are the ultimate discussion starter.

I’ve had a lot of fun with this one this year. Thanks to one of my bestfriends, Sarah, for getting me hooked. And for my aunt Judy – who gifted me her tarot deck from the 80’s a few years back. I had never tried my hand at them until the pandemic. Right now I’m still at the level of a tarot google reader. I pull a card and I try to guess a few things about it but I mainly end up googling and taking the opinions from a few of the website. Either way, it seems to again be a fun conversation piece and I’ve also found a good way to think about feelings or events. Hopefully this year I can continue to have fun with it and explore new spreads or learn a bit more intuitively but for now it is what everything else is these days – another way to spend our time.