The Year We Lost
By: Eric Swanson
Tags: Covid 19, Opportunity

The Year We Lost

Or Did We?

Photo by Leyy . on Unsplash

Instant, Momentary Sadness

I just walked into my daughter’s room. The stale air punched me in the face. That air that signals no one has been in there for a while. I was instantly a little sad. Thinking about all the times I put her to bed and prayed with her.

My son’s room was the same. A little messy, but not too bad. His bed full of stuffed animals and space battle drawings on construction paper. His TV stand packed with action figures and magic tricks. There is so much I wanted to teach him.

Photo by Adrien Olichon on Unsplash

Opportunity

Like many, I have been at home since March. Unlike many, I’m still working. One thing I realized after figuring out we were going to be at home for a while was this was an opportunity.

We’ve had an opportunity for past eight months to pour into our kids in a way we haven’t been able to before. We’ve also had an opportunity to better ourselves we may never have again.

I know this year has been tough for many people and I don’t discount that but calm seas don’t make for good sailors, or something like that. That probably sounds like empty platitudes but I believe you have to fight the battle every day.

Don’t worry. Nothing happened to my kids. They are still here, but my mind went to a place where they didn’t live here anymore. I’ve had the opportunity to drop them off at school then pick them up from the bus stop. Cook breakfast for them. Referee rock, paper scissor competitions to see who takes a bath first. Watch them swing on a rope swing over the river and jump in even though they were scared. Those were proud Dad moments.

They are 11 and 9. You may say I have a good bit of time with them before they grow up and move out. Any parent will tell you the days are long but the years are short. It wasn’t that long ago they were sitting in high chairs eating puffs. I only have a little time left to make sure they can thrive on their own. To help them become adults who contribute to society not take away from it.

I have no doubt that God put the word opportunity in my mind when this all started. I’ve never been much on the “word of the year” thing but maybe there’s something to it, at least this year.

I’ve had this great opportunity and have not taken full advantage of it if I’m honest. Some days I make progress, just a little, then the next day I take too many naps or zone out and stare at my phone. That’s just how it is.

Progress

You progress every day until you don’t. Then what? Jon Acuff calls this the day after perfect. What are you going to do when you absolutely fail at your goals one day? You start again. Notice I didn’t say start over. Saying you start over means you’re at the beginning again. That’s not how progress works.

Maybe this year happened for you, not to you. It’s all a matter of perspective. Sometimes you have to step back, take your emotions out of it, and look honestly at your progress. Then make a decision and move forward.

What opportunities have you had this year? What opportunities did you overlook? Have you made progress? If you haven’t, don’t worry. There’s still time. It’s about baby steps forward.