“We will open the book, its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and the first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

If ever there was a year where we would like to start a New Year like a fresh page in a crisp new book, it is this one! The global pandemic changed everything in almost an instant. We unfortunately learned new terms like COVID-19, lockdown, as well as physical and social distancing, Families became islands or bubbles and isolation, loss and grief knew too many of us.

For our family, our year of loss started before COVID-19 became real in Canada. We lost our dear Mum at the end of January and for us, the lens through which we experienced what came next changed our experience. Wanting to reach out and touch someone you love, to say “I love you” and hug them, is a potent and visceral emotion. Seeing the images of families separated by glass often brought tears to my eyes, as I am certain it did for many.

COVID-19 has taught us a horrible yet valuable lesson that I hope we do not soon forget. Humans are social beings and we are wired to touch and comfort one another. We are built to love and cherish those we hold dear. This is a powerful gift!

What I will tell you is this. I learned that we should not take any day for granted. Each one is a gift to be accepted and treasured. While I miss my parents deeply, I know they would be disappointed in me if I did not cherish this one life I’ve been given like they did theirs.

So, my annual New Year’s blog post is a celebration of this horrible, wonderful year that we just witnessed. It is important to take what lessons we can while hoping for a brighter, happier New Year in 2021.

As a trained historian, I did want to start with some images I found on my phone’s camera roll from before we really understood how quickly COVID-19 would impact our lives. In the photos below you will see the last human interactions I had before lockdown in March.

The first image is of an event I attended for Hot Docs here in Toronto. It was a live interview with Susan Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic. The Ted Rogers Theatre was packed and Goldberg’s talk, fascinating. Today, sitting in a crowded theatre seems strange!

The next three images are of my last work trip to Saskatchewan March 12-13. I recall reading about the importance of “flattening the curve” while waiting for my flight west. I also recall all of us starting to get nervous about traveling and about what might come next. My last evening in a hotel was at the lovely Delta Bessborough in Saskatoon, which was to be home to The Juno’s. But this event, not unlike those that followed shortly after, was cancelled during this trip. The hotel was deserted! I also kept the Globe and Mail from the morning I flew home. Note the stark cover with a tiny image of a rising curve. I ended my weekend with a fantastic visit in the Distillery with my nephew Kyle and his girlfriend, now fiancé, Meagan. I captured a snap of them below the famous love locks in the Distillery. Their lock is still there! The following week, everything shut down.

I am sure everyone will remember the next months that followed in the spring lockdown. Working from home. Zoom meetings. “You’re on mute.” “You’re still on mute.” Family game night…every night. Daily walks. Ordering take out from neighbourhood restaurants to help keep them afloat. Home gyms. Mostly we all will remember missing the ones we love and wondering how all of this would turn out.

In my neighbourhood in Toronto, I was thankful for positive signs that things would indeed get better. The Distillery District is a special place and even more so when it is quiet and empty. I’m not sure who places these positive signs of hope around each corner, but they certainly lifted my spirits (pardon the pun!)

The spring lockdown also witnessed a nightly event that I grew to cherish and look forward to: balcony clapping for front line workers as they left their shifts. Each night at 7:30 I would join my neighbours in clapping and bell ringing. We ended each evening by waving at each other, hoping to see each other again the next evening. This small thing brought a lot of comfort to those of us feeling isolation’s sting, but it also helped boost the spirits of those risking their lives daily to save the lives of others. See the messages below from my neighbourhood association that helped rally us each evening.

Do you know what also kept me afloat during the long weeks of solitude?Family Zoom’s on Sunday! Lots of gingers! Also note the photobomb by one dog, also named Ginger…

COVID-19 also brought out the artist, baker and maker in many folks, including me. The first photo below is a painting that my Mum did which spurred me on to try painting as well. I painted a barn in the style of Maud Lewis, sketched a Toronto Island cottage and my favourite artistic endeavour this year, Paint Night With Moses. A dear friend from high school, Moses Lunham is a talented artist who graciously shared his expertise through hosting four paint nights in December. Moses hosted these evenings with the intention of bringing together isolated folks who needed a creative outlet to help us feel less alone, especially during a Christmas lockdown. You will see my three efforts below. Thank you, thank you Moses! You made my December!

The last two paintings are very special! This year I learned that my cousin-in-law, Henri Huneault, was quietly painting up a storm, using some of my adventure photos as a starting point. I loved receiving the gorgeous sunflower and church paintings, both of which are now proudly hanging on my apartment walls!

My one contribution during these long, challenging days came in the form of daily photos shared on Facebook. Initially, I started by sharing “green” photos on St. Patrick’s day using a fun collage app called Layout. One weekend in March I took a walk through my camera roll on my phone and started creating more collages to share…flowers to start. Then I used another favourite app called Waterlogue that changes your photos into watercolours. Sometime in April I started added the day of the week as well. It was getting hard to remember! By the fall, I have to tell you I wished I hadn’t started with collages! My camera roll was starting to get thin on new photos and the pandemic had no end in sight! I next turned to another fun app called Prisma to turn my photos into abstract paintings. Daily fall abstracts ensued. Now, heading into 2021, I have gone through my camera roll one last time and applied a different fun app called Brushstroke to some summery snaps to help get us through our COVID winter. Facebook friends, be prepared for more barns, old trucks, even older churches and lots of flowers!

Once the lockdown lifted in the summer, I saw a window of opportunity to get on the road and feel the sun on my face. Despite living in a cool city, I’m not a “city person.” Born and raised on a farm in Southwestern Ontario, I long for quiet country roads, red barns, and blue sky vistas. So this became my summer of day trip adventures. Each weekend I pored over my Backroads of Ontario Map Book and plotted out roads that would get me “there and back” in one day. Below you will see some of my favourite snaps. This winter I will write more about my adventures to places like Elora, Muskoka, the Kawarthas and also my Trent-Severn Waterway adventure. Stay tuned to this channel!

When I wasn’t on the road adventuring, COVID-19 also meant a LOT of reading from the safety of my balcony here in the Distillery District. As we all know, much-needed change was in the air this summer. This was the summer of Black Lives Matter and I had a lot of reading to understand to do. My starting point included Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be An Anti-racist and Ta-Hehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. I also needed a deeper understanding of Indigenous rights in Canada where so much more work must also be done! My favourite read of the summer was One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet, Richard Wagamese’s last book. Richard was a quiet author/educator and this important last book focuses on the change he expects to happen out of dark times:

“There will also come a time when a new flame is lit. A new fire will burn and the human family will gather about it for shelter, warmth, community and belonging. This new flame will be ignited by the embers of those old tribal fires we have in common. There will be a returning to teachings that draw us together instead of pushing us apart. As these teachings are renewed, the human family will gather together and the energy of that joining will heal the planet – if we allow it.”

Richard Wagamese, One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet

Such a powerful message! I hope he is right!

You will also see in the collage below that I found numerous Little Free Libraries, a find that elevated an adventure to A+ in my book! And this Christmas I was the lucky recipient of many books as gifts. It felt like an Icelandic Christmas, also known as “The Yule Book Flood.” That’s one flood I can root for!

Stumbling upon a Little Free Library on my travels always made my day. So unexpected yet so appreciated! I also happened upon a few other unexpected delights so I will share them here with you…waterfalls and sunflowers! I can assure you I did not seek these natural gems out but they did find me and I am grateful!

I found the waterfalls below in Rockwood, Big Chute, Bracebridge, Fenelon Falls and Paris. Next summer you can also find the sunflower fields near Forest, Bayfield and Kettle Point, called Max’s Minions, as well as The Sunflower Farm near Beaverton.

As you can see, I was blessed with some fantastic adventures this past year, despite the gloom of COVID-19. As my Dad would say, I “made hay while the sun shone” and I am grateful for each precious day and new vista I had.

As we start another New Year, I will wish for you that we see brighter days ahead, when we can travel and enjoy the world around us. I also pray that we remember this challenging time when we longed to be together. I truly believe we will come out the other end stronger, more resilient and more grateful for each moment we spend together once it is safe. Oh the ginormous hugs we will give and receive!

I will leave you with a poem from one of my favourites, Mary Oliver. Her book of poetry called Devotions is a treasure trove of quirky and lovely odes to the natural world. This poem in particular tugged at my heart strings and seems appropriate for this New Year.

“August of another summer, and once again 
I am drinking the sun
and the lilies again are spread across the water. 
I know now what they want is to touch each other. 
I have not been here for many years
during which time I kept living my life. 
Like the heron, who can only croak, who wishes he 
could sing, 
I wish I could sing. 
A little thanks from every throat would be appropriate. 
This is how it has been, and this is how it is: 
All my life I have been able to feel happiness, 
except whatever was not happiness, 
which I also remember. 
Each of us wears a shadow. 
But just now it is summer again
and I am watching the lilies bow to each other, 
then slide on the wind and the tug of desire, 
close, close to one another, 
Soon now, I’ll turn and start for home. 
And who knows, maybe I’ll be singing.”

Mary Oliver, The Pond, Devotions.