Best of 2020 – with friends!

16 December 2020

Did I cringe a bit typing in the title of this post? Yes, yes, I did. Not because this weird year hasn’t had its superlative moments for our family – it has – but because I worried it might feel insensitive to talk about the best parts of a year to readers who may have had a much harder go in 2020 than we have. If you’ve suffered the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or even just the painful loss of hopes or expectations, it might feel flippant to talk about favorite TV shows or little luxuries.

My hope, though, in writing this post is that it would help me to reframe the narrative of this hard year, focusing on the gifts and the good instead of the more obvious disappointments. After all…

As you read along and reflect on your own year, I hope my musings might help you to pick out your own glittering moments. In the comments, please share a few of your best memories, finds, and favorites from 2020, if you’d like. As always, I can’t wait to hear!

P.S. Like last year, I invited a few of my favorite blogging friends – Lisa / Stephanie / Nancy / Rhi – to join me. I think you will love reading their reflections, too!

Best adventure/travel/trip: Our detour to the Berkshires (en route to Maine) stands out. Situated in early July, it was our first big adventure after quarantine, and because we’d never been there before, the whole experience felt shiny and new. I have the sweetest memories of sunset takeout, paddling in the warm water with June, and cozy post-shower snuggles with the kids in the big bed, warm summer air floating through the window.

Best book: I read 31 books this year (in part thanks to my personal reading club!) and a few rose to the top: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and Just Mercy are tied for the top non-fiction spot, and The Great Alone takes the cake for fiction. Stay tuned for next year’s list soon!

Best movie: Knives Out

Best TV show: The final season of Homeland, which aired in the thick of quarantine and gave us something to look forward to in those long weeks. Also The Last Dance. I’m as surprised as you, ha!

Best album or song:Never See the End” captured my heart in a big way when I discovered Jess Ray’s music for the first time after oh, only a decade of being aware it existed.

Best follow on Instagram: As you know, I follow very few people, and even fewer that I don’t know in real life. But this year, I added a few “strangers” I have particularly enjoyed: Shakira, who shares my love for making everyday magic for her family; Alice, who shoots it straight with practical and inspiring life/mom/work advice; and Ralphie, who’s ready with a boost of encouragement to be the mama I desire to be whenever I sign on.

Best kiddo milestone: It’s funny – last year, I listed Shep’s growing communication abilities and the attendant changes in his personality as the best kiddo milestone of 2019 – and this year, I’m going to list the exact same thing! His language has completely exploded in the second half of this year, and we are seeing the sweetest, most cheerful and delightful side of him these days. So grateful!

Best faith grower: It has been a tumultuous year for most e-commerce companies, and Cultivate is no different. Through the ups and downs, though, we have seen God deliver in the most extravagant, clear, and loving ways – and gotten to praise Him for it along the way. I am very grateful to Lara for leading us so faithfully and well!

Best trend you tried: In January, we bought a Peloton. Far from a trend for our family, this is the first time since high school I’ve stuck with a regular exercise rhythm – and the first time I’ve ever incorporated strength training into my routine. What a year to get one – I’m so grateful!

Best beauty purchase: Never did I ever think I’d list a Beautycounter product as a favorite, but here we are: my first ever BC product turned out to be a game changer! I use Skin Twin in Light 210 and it is a dream – light but effective coverage, which goes on really smoothly.

Best family memory: Our fall trip to Highlands, our two backyard camping adventures, and our Octonauts movie premiere party!

Best habit you created: In January, I made a number of cold turkey changes to my Instagram usage, including checking my public account just once a day, quitting the Explore tab, and muting or unfollowing people who left me feeling icky. They’re all still going strong, and I am much happier for it.

Favorite blog post written: This post on banned phrases as well as this one on my Dad and parenting stick out from the year. Also this one I wrote on our 15th dativersary!

Best new recipe: So many Instant Pot faves!

Best life or mom hack: Did you know that the wooden containers Melissa & Doug toys (such as this) come in make excellent drawer organizers? Turns out they do.

Best mama moment: There are so many, but I’ll go with watching June soar on her big-kid bike!

Best home improvement: Our upstairs bathroom refresh has been such a fun upgrade – I smile every time I walk past it! Full reveal to come soon, but you can see the plans here.

Best little luxury you’ve enjoyed: In the height of the pandemic, I learned the beauty of taking ordinary days off (instead of saving them all for holidays, travel, or family visits). Whether tackling a project around the house or spending one on one time with a kiddo, these were some of the sweetest days in 2020, and I will definitely be setting aside a few days for them in my leave calculations going forward!

As always, I’m ending the year so grateful for the delights, big and small, that filled our year. I’ll be sharing more in my year in review post coming up soon, but in the meantime, please do share: what are some of your “bests” from 2020? Can’t wait to hear!

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[…] year running, I’m sharing some end-of-the-year superlatives alongside a few dear friends (Emily, Stephanie, and Nancy), all of whom I am lucky to know in real life. These ladies are the real […]

Abigail Gray
December 16, 2020 8:54 am

Gosh, 2020! I have spent some time reflecting on this year in recent days, and like you, have much to be grateful for amidst the hard parts. The best of 2020 is absolutely getting engaged and starting wedding planning (even in the middle of a pandemic!). Knowing that we will be joining our families has helped so much in the times that have felt lonely/hard living far away from them/not being able to travel to them this year. Other and more mundane “bests” include reading more than I ever have, getting into a wonderful yoga routine, and the joys of not commuting! :)

Abigail Gray
December 22, 2020 8:00 pm
Reply to  Em

Thank so much, Em! That means so much :) I have been re-reading many of your wedding planning posts since getting engaged and I am so grateful to have them as a resource! I will say, on the positive side, the chaos of this year has helped me to distill further what matters and what doesn’t, and I am grateful to have that focus while wedding planning!

Victoria B
December 16, 2020 9:11 am

Yes count me in on the group whose year has been awful. Too much loss to discuss. But I did love reading your favorites! I have been dragging my feet on reflecting back because gosh I just don’t want to relive most of it ever again. I can say that my son at age 3.5 is my new favorite age (I keep saying that). He’s so fun and it’s magical spending my days with him.

Kelly C
December 16, 2020 9:25 am

Ok this is too fun and what a delight! I fall in the camp in that we relatively have gone unscathed this year, minus all our fun adventures were cancelled or postponed to a later date. And all though my mom fights COVID every day in the hospital with her patients, we have all managed to stay well, and keep our jobs. My heart has become so exhausted with hurting along friends and family who unfortunately had a harder year.
Adventure: Visiting Antietam
Book: The Proposal, Wedding Date, Royal Holiday series, and Atomic Habits
Show: The Last Dance as well, surprisingly! And Go Rv has been a new discovery
Instagram Follow: Kristin Winchester’s morning show has been so fun
Faith Grower: Small group meeting outdoors all fall
Trend I tried: Spin mop
Beauty purchase: Glycolic acid pads
Family memory: renting a boat for Father’s day and sitting outside on the patio playing card games and laughing so hard till we cried
Habit: Started a job in February that cut my commute from one hour to 12 minutes, so sleeping until 6am instead of 5 am
Recipe: Half-Baked Harvest Sesame orange chicken
Home Improvement: Lights on a schedule with alexa
Little Luxury: hot rollers. I love the bounce!

December 16, 2020 9:33 am

Thanks tons for including me on this, Em!! This was such a special post to reflect on and write, despite the incredible ups and downs of this year. You reminded me just how much I loved reading Just Mercy (definitely a favorite book this year!), and that Roald Dahl quote is one of my very favorites, for sure. xoxox

Hales
December 16, 2020 11:27 am

All the extra family time has definitely been a best! Our 3 year old daughter falling for Octonauts has also been a best. Hearing her yell “Octonauts to the launch berry” (yes, she thinks Captain say ‘Berry’) has been such a joy. I have you to thank for the Octonauts recommendation! I even have the shell plates and ocean figurines hidden away for our own premiere party of Octonauts & the Great Barrier Reef.
I really loved this post! And yes, magic is real.

Pressley
December 16, 2020 2:11 pm

You probably loved The Last Dance because it’s about a Tar Heel ;) If you haven’t already, this story about Michael Jordan from a few years ago is really worth your time. (Honestly, anything Wright Thompson writes is worth your time!) http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/Michael-Jordan/michael-jordan-not-left-building
I also really loved your post about your dad this year – such a sweet sentiment that you captured so beautifully!

December 17, 2020 10:23 pm

[…] to in seasons of unknown. And I’m very, very excited to share them!Thank you to my lovely Emily for organizing this blog post theme again this year, an effort pursued by mutual blogging friends […]

December 18, 2020 1:49 pm

Em, it’s such a pleasure to do this fun series again with you this season. I always learn so much from you, but my favorite takeaway is admiring how you celebrate the simple and mundane, making these very things far from ordinary. I love you!

December 21, 2020 9:00 am

Laughed out loud at your beauty favorite but you know I am here for it! ;) I’m so thankful we have still been able to spend some time together in 2020!!

Stephanie
December 21, 2020 1:15 pm

Love this post! We definitely need to celebrate the good moments of this year. For our family, 2020 was SO MUCH better than 2019, regardless of all that happened in the wider world. We welcomed our second child in February (how is she almost 10 months already??) and our 3yo was declared in remission from neuroblastoma. Even though we spent most of 2020 giving her at home chemo via feeding tube and getting scans every few months, it was still such an improvement over last year. She went through 6 rounds of chemo in 2019 and finally surgery last fall, and we were at the hospital several times a week for much of the year. Not to mention that my husband had knee surgery (and was on crutches for 6 weeks!) and I had surgery to remove basal cell carcinoma from my face, all within weeks of her first chemo treatment! It was A LOT. And being a cancer caregiver while pregnant is not for the faint of heart! So we are very very thankful that she’s healthy and done with treatment and enjoying preschool…and no hospital visits for several months. Also very thankful that we did not have to do chemo/surgery during COVID.

As for 2020, my best tv show was Friday Night Lights (VERY LATE to the game – ha – I know) and like you we enjoyed Knives Out. I don’t think I can pick a best book, but Last Christmas in Paris was a recent standout. Best new habit is making time for yoga several mornings a week before my husband leaves for work. Best mama moment was watching my girls start to interact more as they both grow. Best kid milestone was Claire starting preschool and Sylvia saying “mama” as her first word! Best family memory was decorating the tree together, and all the family walls we had at the beginning of quarantine, with the baby snuggled up to me in her wrap. No family trips for us again this year, but I was able to go on an overnight getaway with one of my oldest friends, and my husband went on his annual golf trip. Best recipe of the year is shrimp scampi from Bon Appetit. And the pina colada cake I made for my dad’s birthday! Best little luxury this year (and the past 5 years or so) is Theo salted almond dark chocolate bars. Best big luxury is our peloton! It arrived thanksgiving week (perfect timing) after months of sticker shock and deliberation. It was sooo good to get back on the bike for the first time since last December. Would you be willing to share your rider name? I’m bookwormbike :)

Zoe
December 22, 2020 2:49 pm

This is the year our baby daughter, Zetta was born. I went on maternity leave the day lockdown was announced in the UK and the two experiences have been synonymous. The absolute best past of the year has been watching the deep sibling bond between our son a S daughter develop. We have enjoyed so many small pleasures: walks as a family, cooking with my son, watching our son learn to read and our daughter learn to crawl, the discovery of our amazing local chef group which delivers food to your door and many, many crafts. 2020 was still a good one and I feel so lucky to be able to say that.